A Shadow Stalks Hither
by KuraOkami13
Summary: A mysterious shadow kidnaps a young Kokiri Link and takes him to the strange land of Termina, where masks hold unfathomable power and ocarinas summon giants. He'll have to scourge the land for the way home. Luckily, he'll find he's not alone, with princesses and guardians, gerudo kings and farmgirls, would-be sages, and one bay horse to help him save Termina and get home. PreOoT/MM
1. Chapter 1

Something that has been bouncing around in my head for quite a while. And since I always have this tendency to start stuff, I may as well let this one start too.

Chapter 1

The Dead Tree and the Misty Shadow

* * *

_"The rising sun will eventually set, a newborn's life will fade. From sun to moon, moon to sun, give peaceful rest to the living dead._"-Song of Sun poem, Ocarina of Time

* * *

*In Kokiri Forest*

A shadow, tall and hooded with a sort of black mist creeping off its form, slunk its way past the trees and shrubbery. Sharp, angry calls folowed its presence by the voice of every animal, who knew just by looking at it and smelling its scent and hearing it snake its way through the forest that this person, creature, this _thing_ did not belong. But soon the angry growls, snarls, hisses, and caws silenced as each animal either retreated, or found themselves falling unconscious at its feet.

Dekus scrambled from their leafy holes away from it; the carnivorous Deku Babas shied right back into the ground to keep from getting hurt or killed by it; Skulltula's hissed and bolted away with their long, thin legs and spun a protective, sticky web to protect themselves. Fairies that were simply flying around, bored with no child to their name, screamed and flew away as fast as they could.

Somewhere deep in the heart of the forest, the Great Deku Tree sent out a wave of his own, natural magic to read into this mysterious entity. In an instant his magic came bursting back, violent with the harsh rebuff the entity sent him; a rejection, meaning the entity had magic, and knew the Deku Tree was searching for it. Not only that, but it sent one message through the shockwave of magic, one that sent shivers down the tree's spine while he had been busy speaking softly, and gloomily to the blue fairy named Navi.

"Find him, Navi. Fly swift, for time is not on thine side, I doth fear."

"But...what, shall I bring him to you, Great Deku Tree?" she had asked; she was curious, hurt, and sad, but excitement littered her voice. For years, almost an entire century Navi, one of the oldest of the fairies, had waited for the Child, the Kokiri Child she would be a guide, a partner, and friend to. So many fairies she had known had gone to a child, and passed away with the same child once their life was gone. And while she was hurt that it had taken so long for him to ask of her presence, she couldn't help but feel excited.

"Bring him to my glade. Now fly, Navi. The Shadow doth slither ever closer to thine meadow, and I perish the thoughts of its intentions to be that of purity." In a flash the fairy had left, disapearing into the forest to find the one Child he had always watched, the fairy-less boy who was not as he appeared to be to the other Kokiri.

And now, The Great Deku Tree waited for the boy to finish his trial. Every step of the boy's trial reverberated through him as the "Kokiri" child explored his complex and dungeon-like insides, in search of the ugly beast spider Queen Gohma that had somehow wriggled her way into the Great Deku Tree years before and had begun wrecking havoc in his body.

it was very strange, he couldn't help thinking as he waited for both the boy and the shadow to emerge before him. Long before the boy had shown up in the arms of his dying mother as a baby, the Great Deku Tree had dreamed up multiple visions, all of which had centered on a great evil that manifested into the body of a man, and for a while the visions became clearer, showing him horrible acts, violence, pain, and death that would be caused by the approaching evil.

Then, one day the visions ceased. The evil of the man surrounded by fire and darkness disappeared like leaf in a storm, replaced by a vision of the very same shadowy entity that now was haunting the forest, hunting for someone...someone inside the forest...

And it wasn't the Great Deku Tree it was looking for.

A twig snapped, the wind dramatically changed course, and the Great Deku Tree saw the emergence from the tall brush of the ghostly shadow being. The being was just as he had seen in his visions; tall, heavily cloaked in foreign clothes, and a mysterious aura that so harshly fought against the very air around it, as if it weren't supposed to be there, that to relieve the pressure it had to produce some sort of strange black mist to allow it to move.

The hood never fell, but the voice of the shadow entity spoke, and the very sound sent a wanton chill through the Great Deku Tree, "At last we meet, Guardian of the Forest, the Kokiri Deku Tree."

"The Shadow One, the mysterious phantom of darkness. Thine presence speaks of wrong; thou doth not belong in this realm."

The head nodded, "You are wise, as well as correct; just as they say."

The tree watched him, though one would have to wonder how seeing as he's a tree- "Thou seeks a child who is under my protection and guardianship."

"So you _do_ have him. Where is he?" the shadow asked.

"Of which child do thy speak of, Shadowed One? I have many, and all of whom I love and cherish."

The shadow scoffed, "You know, Deku Tree, which I want. The fairy-less boy, Link."

"The boy is mine to protect, Shadow One. "

"I will have him, Deku Tree, and there is nothing you can do to stop me; it is inevitable, and fighting me is pointless." the shadow hissed.

"Perhaps, but This One will not let thou take away the child, not unhindered and without an effort to revoke thine act." rebuffed the Great Deku Tree.

The shadow huffed, "You won't hand him over willingly, Tree?"

"I shall not."

The shadow huffed again, but then paused to consider something. It shrugged the pointed shoulders of its cloak, "A shame, and I thought you to be wise. You will regret refusing, Deku Tree."

It was the tree's turn to huff, "Thou presumes much; This One will never regret such a choice, only that This One cannot do more."

A flare of black mist, and magic appeared on the left sleeve of the shadow's cloak. The arm raised, hand out and palm outstretched. In a flash of dark flame a colossal scythe appeared, dark fire blazing around the sharp edge. A wicked series of laughter echoed from within the hood and the shadow crept closer.

The Great Deku Tree summoned his magic and feirce gust of wind threw itself at the shadow. The entity was knocked back, and the wind blew hard like a hurricane. Slowly, the shadow managed to regain its footing and slowly fought the wind as it crept right back up. Next, Deku Tree summoned forth his large, vine-like roots. They flailed angrily at the shadow, who was able to move better as the wind died, but had trouble evading the flailing thick roots that flew at it.

A shockwave of pain coursed through the Deku Tree as the Shadow swung its scythe and successfully severed and destroyed each root. He summoned up more roots, ones even bigger, harder, and even sharp-tipped. The roots all attacked, slamming into the Shadow, and flying at him. Root after root the Shadow One sliced apart, each cut root falling limp to the ground and bleeding thick tree sap, and pain ripped through the Tree each time.

He was quickly losing too many roots, and with each dead root that fell he was getting weaker...

SHINK!

The Great Deku Tree froze, the last of the roots halting in an instant. A ginormous and trench-deep gash marked where the Shadow's scythe sliced at him, and the dark fire turned into a burning hot poison that coursed through his veins. Yet he was numb, to the fire in his body and the sap leaking freely like a river down his side.

The Great Deku Tree's leaves started changing rapidly, from the vivid and lively green they usually were to a sickening purple and brown, before falling at an alarming rate off his branches.

A bright light suddenly flashed, and out of a iridescent glowing blue light appeared none other than the Kokiri child Link, with his fairy Navi. The boy saw what was happening, and looked absolutely horror-stricken. The Shadow turned to the boy and once the shaded One saw him, the Great Deku Tree knew, it was all over.

"Forgive me L-Link...a-and Navi...I... have f-failed thee..." groaned the Deku Tree.

"Great Deku Tree!" cried the two partners.

"W-what have you done!" Navi screamed angrily at the Shadow.

"Y-you killed him...you... you MONSTER!" Link spat, and he drew his short Kokiri Sword and shield.

The Shadow seemed amused, "You wish to fight me, boy?" it asked, cocking its head to the side.

"You bet I do!" Link hissed, and he charged at the Shadow. Navi flew ahead and whirled around the Shadow as Link took aim and as soon as he was close he swung his blade down with all his might.

Only to find himself slicing air as the Shadow suddenly dispersed into a pitch black mist. The Shadow's mist circled around him and Navi, like an angry, hungry predator. The small Kokiri gulped hard.

"What is this thing?"

"I don't know!"

The Shadow chuckled, the voice reverberating through the mist like a harsh echo. "Foolish, pathetic boy. You're mine."

And suddenly, the mist attacked him, swirling out at him, enveloping him into a tight embrace. The last thing Link could hear was the cackle of the shadow and his own voice as he screamed for Navi before he lost his senses to darkness.

* * *

Second chapter, once I finish it, is much longer. Just sayin. If you wish for it to continue, go ahead and speak now (REVIEW in other words!) and do forgive my fail at the Great Deku Tree. Oldpeople-speak is not my forte.

-KO13


	2. Chapter 2

I'm addicted to Zelda music, KH Birth By Sleep, and Mountain Dew right now; forgive me if this chapter sucks.

Chapter 2

Bombers! NOT Bomb-Ombs!

* * *

_"Now, first off you have to take the test all new pirates have to take! It's a bit of a doozy, so get ready!"_-Niko, The Wind Waker

* * *

*?*

"...nk...nk..."

The Kokiri boy moaned, his head pounding and body aching a terrible storm. Slowly, his brain went to work on trying to recognize the voice.

"...nk...ink..."

He opened his eyes, but he found his vision to be blurry. A barely distinguishable blue fuzz ball was all up in his face, that much he could tell.

"...ink...Link... LINK!" it yelled, at the same time that his vision began to clear and Link realized that it was not a blue fuzz ball, but Navi.

"Navi, wh-wh-what is it?" he yawned mid-sentence, lifting his little body off the be-wait, that wasn't his bed he was lying on! His fingers scraped the hard, gritty dirt and in alarm he jumped to his feet. Blue eyes scanned the area but he was indeed not in his bed, or even in his house for that matter. Wherever he was, it had little to no trees, save for a large one to his far left that appeared to have been roughly mangled through its life, with a rock-carved slide on the side and tall stepping pillars. There were so few leaves on it that the tree looked absolutely dead and barren save for three at the top. It was awful to the sight of the boy who had lived his entire life in a rich forest. Stone-carved walls surrounded him with three holes that a few people were walking in and out of, with the one closest behind him guarded by a man in armor holding a spear. To his far right was a large series of rock steps and a fenced in area with a cave-like entrance.

"Navi...where-where are we?" Link croaked, lifting himself off of the ground and brushing his clothes off.

"NOT the Forest, that's for sure." she said, equally as frightened of the area as he was; it was foreign, strange, and very frighteningly different from the forest. No trees, no sparkling spirit flies flying about, and certainly no Kokiri. Everybody was much taller, much older looking than the ageless Kokiri Children, and their presence scared him and the fairy. Never had either of them seen any person older or taller than the Kokiri, and this was quite a shock to them both.

Children were playing nearby, all wearing a uniform of blue shorts, white shirt and a blue or red bandanna. They were slightly smaller than Link, but just by looking at them he could tell they weren't Kokiri. They all had a straw or a thick, hollow reed and were shooting something through it at some oddly colored balloon. The ammo hit it spot on, but for some reason it wouldn't pop no matter what they did.

"W-what kind of place is this?" asked Link, "Where are the trees- the brush- the dekus, the birds, the animals! Where'd they all go?"

"I don't know...HEY!" she gasped with a loud, ringing bell tone, "All we remember is defeating that Gohma thing in the Great Deku Tree and some shadow-covered guy killing him, and then getting knocked out by him, right?"

He nodded.

"Well, what if when he attacked us as that freaky mist, he sorta...I don't know... dropped us somewhere?"

Link crossed his arms, thoughtful, "As in, he bundled us up and took off with us and left us in some weird place?"

"Yeah!" she jingled, "So if that's true, all we really gotta do is ask around for directions back to Kokiri Forest and we'll be on our way right back home!"

The blond Kokiri smiled, "Navi, you're a genius! Now, where do we start..."

"How bout those kids over there, trying to pop that balloon?" she suggested, gesturing with a quick turn to the aforementioned children shooting something through their straws, trying to pop that large balloon.

"Sure."

With the air of an absolutely clueless, but cheerful and polite stranger he walked his way over to the children, preparing his question in his mind for the conversation he was about to start with the non-Kokiri boys. But wait! It struck him, what if they didn't speak the same language as him? They weren't Kokiri, and all Kokiri spoke the same tongue-what if they spoke in some alien language that he had never heard of?

"Navi, what if-"

"Just ask, Kiddo. I'm sure they'll reply, you just have to ask. And remember- be polite!" she advised, cutting him off mid-sentence. Before he could try to repeat his question to her, however, a small voice interrupted him and Navi.

"Who are you?"

Link jumped nearly four feet into the air in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden interruption. The interruption, he observed, turned out to be one of the uniformed boys, his hat red instead of the blue hat the kid beside him had. His presence seemed to stand out amongst the blue hats, and Linkw ondered if he was the leader of their troupe.

"I-I-uhm, I-"

"You're not from around here, I've never seen you before. What about you guys?" the kid spoke, turning his head to the blue hatted children behind him.

They all chorused, "No way! Never seen him!" and the uniformity in their voices scared Link-just a bit.

"Thought so." he confirmed, "So what's your name? And what's with that floating ball with wings? is it some kind of invention of yours?" the boy wondered curiously.

Navi's blue aura turned an offensive red, and the fairy bristled, "Floating ball? Why you little-"

"Navi!" Link gasped.

She growled, but the silent plead she saw in his big, baby blues calmed her enough to silence any offensive things she might have had to say. "Hey, listen! I'll have you know that I'm no invention, but a real, living fairy! And not just any fairy, but I'm his fairy, his partner."

Some of them gasped, "A Fairy!"

One whispered, "She looks nothing like the Great Fairy... for one she's not naked!"

"WHAT!" Navi exclaimed, as if she had been slapped by the comment about the Great Fairy, "OOh, now you're getting it, you little-"

"Navi..." Link said with an unspoken plead. 'Please, please don't embarrass me, Navi! I need them to like me, not laugh at me!'

"UUGHH..." she huffed, but her angry red aura never faltered. She mumbled something about "offensive little oafs" and "insulting a Great Faerie", but for the most part she seemed to keep her quiet about herself.

"A-anyway, my name is Link."

"Link?" some of the blues repeated to each other, the name odd and foreign to them.

"Link, huh?" replied the red-hatted leader. "The name's Jim. These lazy bones behind me are Otto, Mikael, Brandon, Ethan, and Robert." he began, and Link half-heartedly noticed movement with the blue-hatted boys behind the red, "And we are-"

"The BOMBERS Secret Society of JUSTICE!" all five, red and blue alike, chorused at the same time, striking a dramatic pose and Link half expected something bright and loud to follow. A moment's pause passed and the boys stopped holding their poses and went back to just standing, shuffling their feet, or continuing to look at Link's foreign clothes.

"Uhm...nice to meet you." was all Link could put together for a reply.

"We're a secret gang of the streets." spoke one blue hat.

"We fight for justice, and the happiness of-"

"SHUT UP!" Jim snapped to the both of them, "Our motives aren't for the entire world to know! That's why we're a secret society!"

The blue hatted boys that had spoken became thoughtful, as if it hadn't dawned on them before, "I didn't think of that!"

"Of course not." smirked Jim, "That's why I wear the red hat and not you."

Link heard Navi make a groan, and on the inside he couldn't help but feel the same. Snooty, cocky attitudes like what Jim was displaying were a constant back home, due to a Kokiri who had been the source of Link's misery for years, named Mido. But thinking of Mido made him think of Saria, and the Great Deku Tree, and he felt tears start to well up.

"Link..." sighed Navi, who leaned into his face and he saw her sad, understanding eyes. They both didn't care where in Hyrule they were; they both just wanted to go home and mourn for the Deku Tree, and marvel at the floating spirit flies, and such.

"H-h-hey! Kid-I mean, uh, Link! Hey, what's with the waterworks dude?" Jim jumped, having turned to Link with the full intention of continuing the conversation and finding not the lost, clueless but cheery and shy green clothed boy, but a hurt, kicked puppy that looked like its mother had just died.

Link wiped away at the tears in his eyes, and shook his blonde haired, green-hatted head. "N-nothing. H-hey, Jim, right?"

"Yeah?"

"I-I don't mean to sound dumb, but since I'm kinda lost... where am I? And how can I get back to Kokiri Forest from here?"

Jim went blank in the face for a moment, as if to comprehend, "...excuse me? Kokiri Forest? What's that?"

"Maybe it's a newly made area in the Woodfall Swamp!" chirped one of the boys behind him.

"That sounds right. I've never heard of Kokiri Forest though." said another.

"What?" gasped Link. "What do you mean you've never heard about Kokiri Forest?"  
Jim shrugged, "It's exactly what it means; we've never heard of such a place, not here in Termina."

Link gulped, an ominous feeling of dread hitting him in the gut, "Termina? What's that?"

"What do you mean, what's that?" Jim scoffed, "Termina's Termina! It's the name of the land you're standing on, duh! Woodfall Swamp, the Zora Cape, Snowhead, our Clock Town-it's all on Termina."

"But then...what has happened to Hyrule?" Navi questioned.

"Hyrule...Never heard of it!" spoke a blue hatted boy with a blonde lock poking out of his hat.

"That's because it doesn't exist, Brandn." said Jim.

Link and Navi shared a look, one of fright, and confusion. What had happened to their homeland? Where exactly had that blasted Shadow taken them? How far away where they, to be in a place that had no knowledge of their home? Of the Forest? Of Hyrule itself?

"Oh dear... who knows how far away we are from home..." Navi spoke her voice full of hopelessness and pain, and for one long moment it seemed a heavy curtain of iron had been cast upon their shoulders.

"...no, we can't give up!" Link cried. "We can't give up Navi! We'll find our way back home! We have to!"

Navi observed his uproar, the stubborn, determined fire that rose up from nowhere. She smiled to him, then, "You're right. We just need to start looking, that's all."

"If you're going to be looking for something, then you should probably go see Old Man Shikashi." Jim said.

"Shikashi?"

Jim nodded, "Yep. He's this moon-crazy astronomy professor who lives in his observatory outside the gates of East Clock Town. he may be a bit cuckoo in the head for astronomy, but he's supposed to be really smart; if anybody would know about wierd stuff like your Kokiri Forest, he might know."

Link blinked, then smiled, "Really? And how can I get there?"

"Well, the guard's pretty stubborn about letting people through," Jim began to ponder, " especially kids; you'l probably have to go through the alternative path, which is down the alleyway in East Clock Town-which is down the dirt road right behind you."

Link beamed, "Thanks, Jim! Come on, Navi!" the fairy voiced her complyment and they turned to head toward their new destination.

"HOLD IT!" yelled Jim, and he and the four other Bomber gang kids all ran past Link and blocked the entrance. "It's a path that leads to the Hideout-and only Bomber Gang members have the pass code to get down there!" he said.

"Oh..."

"If that's the case," Navi started, "then how 'bout giving us the pass code? or better yet-" she jingled, "-let us join the gang!"

"Navi, do you really mean that?" Link whispered.

"Of course I do. The kids may be rude and snot-nosed," she whispered back with an undisguised loathing, "but they seem to know what they're doing and what's going on around in this town. So why not take advantage of it? Besides, who knows what we might learn or gain if we have this Bombers' thing in our arsenal?"

Link thought about that, and soon he found himself agreeing with her logic, "I think I see your point. So how about it Jim?" he began, bringing his volume back up, "can Navi and I join the gang?"

Jim shook his head, "Of course not!"

"HUH?"

"You can't just join the Bombers!" Jim scowled, "You have to go through a test, first!"

"Yeah a test! It's only fair!" chorused the blue-hatted boys behind him, once again.

"A test, it is!" Jim agreed.

"A... a test?" Link repeated, the word leaving an odd aftertaste on his tongue. He and Navi shared an apprehensive look over the Bomber boys' decision. A silent conversation passed by either of them, and in the end they both knew; whatever it took, it looked like they would have to do it to get to their destination.

Jim laughed, "Alright guys, you know the drill." and they all suddenly began to disperse like bugs.

"Wait-wait, Jim!" Link called to the running red-hatted boy, "I don't understand! What kind of test?"

Jim replied over his shoulder, "Find and catch all five of us by tomorrow morning! If you win. we'll tell you the code, and let you become an official Bombers member! But if you lose, you'll never, ever get in the gang! Good luck, fairy boy!"

Link looked to Navi, and saw her sigh, which made her wings droop.

"I can tell..." Navi growled, "This is going to be a long night."

* * *

OH NOOOOes, the dreaded TEST! And now to start on the third chapter. so I think it's pretty obvious now, where the shadow took them. And just sayin- it'll be a looong while before Linky boy starts figuring out why.

Review. Cuz you love me. and Cuz you love Majora's Mask. And cuz I HAVE A PLAAAAN!

...that doesn't involve liquifying humans. (sorry, 3rd Rock from the Sun reference. Imma lame.)

-KO13


	3. Chapter 3

I'm addicted to Zelda music, KH Birth By Sleep, and Mountain Dew right now; forgive me if this chapter sucks. Also, forgive the fail at enemy names- i forget a lot of the names of certain monsters and such.

Chapter 3

* * *

_"Well, yours is a face I'm not used to seeing... Are you here to do something for me? I am Shikashi, professor of astronomy! I have been enamored with the moon since I was a child. Now, I spend my days gazing at it from here._"- Shikashi, Majora's Mask

* * *

"Navi..." huffed Link as he trudged through the sewage, daring to inhale the disgusting and rancid odor of the sewers to breathe.

"Yeah?"

"We are never, ever doing that stupid test again." he huffed again, barely able to breathe in the putrid and humid air. Navi jingled with her affirmative response as both boy and fairy wallowed their way through the sludge.

Link's legs still ached from all the running and jumping he had been doing just to try to catch all five of the Bombers boys, and the thick sludge did not assist in any way to relieve him of the burning in his muscles. They had been chasing down the Bombers all day and almost all night, up, down, and all around Clock Town. The boys were geniuses at Hide and Seek, and it didn't help that Link still couldn't properly find his way around the town. but finally, at the stroke of midnight he had finally caught the last Bomber kid...sleeping.

Now, he had a Bombers Notebook with twenty pages of empty profiles to fill up, and the code to an alleyway that really led into the horrible sewers of the city. So not only was Link sleepy from staying up to catch the kids, but now he was going to reek.

"The sewers seem to stop here." Navi stated, as they reached a gated dead end with a right turn for him to go down on.

"Thank Farore!" Link heaved, and he joyfully hopped out of the water and onto solid stone. He took off his boots and allowed the sewage water to come falling out of his soles like a waterfall. Once he was satisfied with the lack of water, he slipped them back on and they continued down the path. It opened up with a ladder that was situated to allow him to climb up into the small hole in the stone.

As the two companions trudged down the hollow, Link swore he could hear something cackle and the sound of old, wheezy coughing. a light awaited them at the end, and Link found himself staring at a plethora of colors all over the walls. Ignoring the strange looking scarecrow and bird accompaniment in the corner, he climbed a rainbow colored staircase. The walls became dark with blues and purples and even blacks, with many white stars dotting its surface. It was mystifying, and beautiful to his sight.

"That one looks like the Little Deku, and-look, there's the Big Deku!" Navi pointed out, among other constellations she recognized on the walls. "And that one looks like Lupus Major, and Wolfos Minor of there!"

They reached the top, where diamond like tiles covered the floor, and atop a high-step was an old, navy robed man. He had a long white beard and matching hair, and wrinkles that proved his age. As they approached, he turned his head to spot them, but his vision proved poor and he could barely see them until Link was right in front of him.

"I haven't seen your face around here...are you a new member of that Bomb-omb club those rambunctious children have in town?" he asked, his voice shaky and feeble.  
"I believe you mean the 'Bombers', sir." Navi corrected.

"What's this?" the old man jumped at Navi's voice, and leaned in to get a good look at her. "Why, if it isn't a fairy! I haven't seen your kind since those other two went wild and joined up with that rascal, Skull Kid."

"That's...uh...great." said Navi.

"You wouldn't happen to know those two fairies, would ya little blue one? One's a wild yellow and her brother is...oh dear, was it purple and red, or red and purple? Or perhaps blue and pink..." the old man began to ramble to himself about the mentioned fairy's aura color.

Navi sighed, but kept her patience as much as she could, "I'm afraid not, sir. I'm...well, I'm not a newborn fairy, but I'm kinda new here. My name is Navi."

"And my name is Link, sir."

"Link...Link..." the old man repeated, "...Link...now that's a name I haven't heard of! Oh, do forgive this old man; I'm afraid that despite my vast knowledge, my age tends to make me forget certain things; such as I still have not bothered to introduce myself, or ask about your business." he said with sincere sorrow.

"It's alright, sir. Anyway, my friend and I are looking for a man that the Bombers told us about. Excuse me if I am wrong, but you wouldn't happen to be the astronomy professor, Shikashi, would you, by any chance?" Link inquired.

"Why yes." he nodded. "I am he. Have you perhaps come to see the stars through my telescope? or study astronomy, as my aspiring pupil?"  
Link shook his head, "No sir. Actually, Navi and I would like to ask you a few things, seeing as we've been told you are the wisest among the people of Termina."

Shikashi allowed his words to sink in. Then he burst into a series of deep, shaky chuckles, "Ho-ho-ho-hoo! Those Bomb kids are quite silly, aren't they? True, I am indeed the smartest, and perhaps wisest, of the people in Clock Town, but no. I am not the wisest in all of Termina."

"Oh..."

Shikashi noticed the fall in his facial expression, and the old man searched for words to raise the boy's emotions back up. "But, what the hey, I'll help as much as I can, young fellow."

Link smiled, and the old man felt satisfied, "Thank you, Professor."

"Please, just Shikashi." he said. "now about these questions of yours, lad..."

"Of course. Uhm, let's see... does the name Hyrule, or Kokiri Forest, sound familiar to you?"

The professor lifted his head up for a moment's pause, scrounging the banks of his multiple memories to try to find what he was looking for. Eventually he looked back down to Link, "Nope. Never heard of them. Are they some new hip-hop stuff for the young-uns? I'm afraid I don't keep in check with the fashions and modern ways of you young ones these days."

Something in his gut told him it was hopeless once Shikashi finished, but Link couldn't help but press on, "What about Kokiri? The Great Deku Tree?"

"Hyrule Castle?" Navi assisted, "Or how about-"

"Slow down!" yelped the old man, "Yer naming off things faster than my old mushy-noggin can process!"

"Sorry." the both chimed.

"Now let's see..." he spoke, becoming contemplative again. Before long his hand was brushing his beard as well, either as an aid to his thinking or just because he felt like stroking the long white strands with his knobby, bony fingers. "I'm very sorry, young lad and miss fairy, but not a one of those things you have told me ring a bell. I'm afraid they do not exist in Termina."

Navi's wings drooped, "Then it is as we fear..."

Shikashi pulled his arms behind him and looped the fingers together before speaking once more, "I apologize, young sir, that I am of no help. But if I may, are you two perhaps foreigners of a far-away country?"

"Uhm... yeah. Sort of." Navi answered, if a bit reluctantly, "We were taken by a strange shadow being, and woke up here. So we're lost, and we came here hoping you would provide us with some sort of direction home."

"What a tragedy... you must be very far away from home, wherever it may be...hmm... a shadow being, you say?"

Link nodded, "Yes sir. Tall and hooded- we couldn't get a look at their face at all. And they had this ability to turn into mist..."

"Magic, I assume." Shikashi pondered, "I'm afraid my knowledge would be of no use to you, child. however... the Great Fairies might have such wisdom on a strange a being as this thing you speak of. They are, after all, the second strongest forces of magic in our little Termina..."

Certain words caught Link and Navi's attention, "Great Fairies?"

"Why, yes. There are... why, I'd go so far as to say there are five Great Fairies in Termina!" Shikashi laughed, "Yes, and if my memory serves me correctly, there should be one in Clock Town, somewhere, and another in the Woodfall Swamp."

"Navi, this could be our chance!" Link beamed.

"Yeah it could!" she jingled with joy, "Oh, please Shikashi; could you tell us the way to the closest Great Fairy?" Navi begged.

Shikashi laughed, "Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho, of course I can. Let's see... I believe there is one in Clocktown, but my memory has become a bit foggy, so I'm afraid I can't tell you where she might be... there is also one nearby in the Swamp, just east of here. All you have to do is jump the fence around my observatory and you'll be at the Swamp in no time."

"Thank you, Shikashi!" Link cried, and he hugged the old man, "Thank you so much! Come on Navi, let's go find that Great Fairy!"

"You bet! Thank you for your time, professor!" Navi ringed, and they both were out of the observatory through the front door before the old man had time to realize they were gone.

"Kids these days," he laughed to himself, then turned back to his telescope to look at the strange moon hanging over Clock Town.

Link and Navi, meanwhile exited the observatory and were given a full shock of the field of Termina. It was wide, with so much grass covering it, and he could see small colonies of monsters dotting it here and there. To the east of the observatory was a heavily wooded area, that Link assumed would be the swamp, while to his right, or to the west, was an overhanging rocky mountain with white peaks.

"What a pretty field." Navi commented.

"Too bad we never saw Hyrule's field, or else we'd have something to compare it with, huh?" Link said with a sad smile.

"Yeah...So, how do we get out of here?" she wondered.

Link jumped up to grab onto the fence, but instead found himself hitting a solid, invisible wall. "What the...?"

Navi tried to fly through the gaps between the wood and wire, but found herself rebuked like Link by some invisible wall. "UGH, he said just climb over the fence! how can we climb over it when we can't even get a grip on it!"

"Magic field, maybe?" Link asked.

"Maybe. To keep monsters out, of course. Well this is inconvenient..." she growled. "Hey!" she suddenly jingled loud, "What's that over there?"

Link looked to where she was meaning. Something with four legs, a long neck, and a matching mane and tail was running across the field with a person on it, riding it like a beast of burden. They were running fast, and as they passed one of several wood pillars leading from Clock Town to the swamp, Link spotted a nasty looking large bird following them.

"They're in trouble, Navi! We gotta help them!" Link cried.

"But how?" Navi said, anxiously flying up and down, "we're right here behind this stupid magic wall and they are way over there! Plus we don't have anything to hit that bird with, nothing..." a light dawned in her mind, "... except..."

"The slingshot I got from the Great Deku Tree!" Link pulled said weapon out triumphantly. Popping a deku nut seed into the leather strap, he pulled it back and took aim.

"Riiiiiight...there!" he snapped, along with the slingshot.

The ammo soared through the air and smacked the ugly vulture right in the eye, right as it was about to swoop down on its fleeing prey. Another seed followed the first, and soon the bird was dodging a rain of sharp, fast-flying seeds. It cawed, angry at the disruption and tried to search for the source of its annoyance but its sight was not very good for its species. Eventually the bird's poor eyesight made it lose its focus on its prey and it decided to quit the chase. It turned around and soon it was but a flying dot in the sky.

"Over here! HEY!" Link shouted,waving his arm and getting the attention of the horse-back person. They spotted him, and with a quick yell they and the horse were galloping towards him and Navi. They stopped right at the fence, the horse skidding to a halt and kicking up dirt-dirt that, due to the annoying magical wall, did not come through to hit either boy or fairy in the face.

The rider dismounted their horse, which was a small but beautiful bay colored horse with a black nuzzle and leg patches, and a snowy white mane. The rider turned out to be a girl, many years older than Link but still would be considered a child, or a teenager by some adults. She had long red hair, green eyes, freckles, and a grateful smile.

"You're the one who shot at that bird, huh?"

Link nodded, "Yep! Are you alright?"

The girl nodded, "Yes, thanks to you! I wouldn't want to imagine the state I'd be in if i was able to return to the ranch; that bird's infamous, you know!"

"Uhm, not really." Link frowned, "But uhm... could you help me out of this fence? I tried climbing over it, but there's something weird about it that won't let me through..."

The girl frowned, and pressed her hand to the fence and felt the solid but invisible wall that Link and Navi found too. "Hmm... hold on for a moment. I think I have just the thing!" she smiled, and she turned to her horse and searched around the pack attached to its saddle. With a yell of triumph, the girl pulled out a long, solid coil of rope.

"Let's see if this'll work, hm?"

She swung a pre-knotted circle around in the air and sent it sailing over the fence. It fell with a plop right next to Link's feet, and he looped it around his middle. The girl quickly tied it around the horse and with a heave, she pulled on the rope and urged her horse to start pulling as well. A strange feeling took over Link as he defied gravity through the rope, and once he had reached the top, all he had left to do was a quick jump and he was right back on the ground-on the other side!

"Thanks for that!" Link said, untangling himself from the rope and handing it back to the girl, "Navi and I weren't looking forward to going through nasty sewage to get out of there again!'

The girl giggled, "Is that the name of your fairy?"

"Name's Navi." the fairy in question introduced herself, "And this is my partner, Link."

Link promptly held out his hand to the older girl, and smiled, "Nice to meet you!"

She took his hand, and he noticed her hands weren't quite as soft as Saria's; in fact, they were kinda rough. They shook hands, "Nice to meet you too! This is my horse," she pointed to the grass-munching beast behind her, "Epona. And I'm Malon."

* * *

This may be the part where some of you become confused. but be confused no more! Cuz once again- I HAVE A PLAAAAAAANNNNN that doesn'tinvolveliquifyingfairies lolwut? Anyway, here you go- because I'm feeling generous...

...also, I'm glad you fav my story- but you know what I like more? REVIEWSSSSSSSSSS.

-KO13


	4. Chapter 4

Okay so last chapter I mistakenly said Malon and co's eyes were green. They're blue. it has been fixed this chapter. My bad!

Chapter 4

Ranch Life and Pieces of a Fairy

* * *

_"Link? That's a nice name, but... Hmm... Well, all right then. How about... Grasshopper? That's the name Romani gives you. See, you're wearing green clothes, and you patter about when you walk, so Grasshopper it is!"_- Romani, Majora's Mask

* * *

*Romani Ranch*

The Romani Ranch was a gorgeous piece of land; it was spacious, and every inch was covered in long green grass, with large and healthy trees dotting the plain. A small forest was equipped around the rim of the territory, which was right in the middle of a small ravine. Closeby to the ranch that settled itself over in a corner was an old lady's dog racing farm, and as far as Malon had said, she was an odd but friendly woman.

The Ranch itself was run primarily by two sisters and Malon, the youngest being the namesake to the ranch. Cremia, the older sister and oldest of the trio, was the main source of the ranch's working force, and Romani and Malon were her assistants, and main working force.

And as Link had found out the following morning, after helping Malon and getting helped out in return that night, Malon and Cremia were amazing cooks. Being a forest boy, milk was an absolutely unheard of concept, and as soon as the white, creamy liquid hit his tongue and slipped like silk down his throat, Link knew he was in love. The eggs had wonderful flavor, whether they were fried or scrambled, and the bacon was to die for.

"Thanks for letting us stay the night, Miss Cremia!" Link said, his mouth half-full of egg. "For a while Navi and I were afraid we'd be sleeping on some cold, hard ground!"

Cremia chuckled, the sight reminding her of her and Romani's young days as kids when they smacked and chewed and talked with their mouth full just like Link.

"There's no need for the formalities, kiddo, just call me Cremia! And you're very welcome. Its been a while since Romani's had another playmate who isn't always as busy as me or Malon."

"No problem! We haven't exactly been able to relax and play for the past few days." Link swallowed the eggs with a gulp of milk, and started tearing into another strip of bacon.

After Link finished his late morning breakfast and Cremia started washing dishes, it was time for the fairy boy to go outside and start his day. He and Navi left the house and entered the outside, the sun warming his body and the wind pleasant with the smells of the plains as it ruffled his hair and hat.

The clip-clop of hooves alerted him, and he turned just in time to come face to face with the snout of a chesnut mare. He flinched as the horse snorted in his face.

"An inch closer and Epona would have stomped you flat! You okay, fairy boy?" said Malon from atop the horse.

Link nodded, "I'm fine! You ride a horse so well, you make it look easy!"

Malon laughed, "I've had years of practice." she stated, swinging her legs off of the saddle and climbing off," plus I trust Epona, and she trusts me." her booted feet hit the soft grass, and she petted the neck of the mare before stepping close to Link. The difference in age and height was obvious as Malon, just like Cremia, stood to be at least a foot and a half taller than the young Kokiri. In fact, while all three girls had the exact same features, red hair, freckles, and blue eyes, Malon and Cremia were practically twins. They were the same height, same back-length head of red hair, even their freckles seemed to be the same- it was like looking at clones. The two must be twins, was Link's thoughts.

"Do you think I could ever ride a horse as good as you?" Link asked as Malon led Epona to the water trough by the doorless stable by the house. The mare immediately began gulping down the water, and Malon began to brush her down.

"Maybe. I can teach you if you want, if you decide to come back after you finish whatever business it is that you have in the swamp." she said, brushing the mare's neck and mane. "Which reminds me; if I may ask, what's up and got you runnin' half way across the field just to get to back to the Clock Town?"

"Well," Navi began, "we're looking for a Great Fairy that lives there. We've been...having some incredible experiences lately, and are hoping to find answers through the Great Fairy."

Malon nodded, "I see... well, Epona and I can hitch you a ride over to East Clock Town, but I don't know if I'll be able to take you anywhere else. See, I'll be picking up supplies from town for Cremia, and until I have all the supplies I can't leave East Clock Town."

"That'll be fine," Link grinned, "Navi and I can handle the rest of the way... I think."

"Do you have a map of Clock Town? We're not exactly experts at navigating around there." Navi inquired.

"Don't worry about it; I'm no so much an expert on Termina either. Just remind me when we're preparing the wagon and I'll go get it from my room, ok?" she said.

"Okay!" Link nodded, "When will we be leaving?"

She looked to the sky briefly, judging its distance off the horizon, "Hmm, I'd say in an hour or two. Today's supply day and tonight's the final milk delivery, so while we're away in town, Cremia will be preparing the milk for tonight."

"Okay, we'll get ready then!"

"Link, we kinda already are ready..." blanched Navi.

"...oh yeah! We'll wait for the wagon to be ready then!" he laughed to himself.

He and Navi, after much debate, decided to go on and explore the ranch as they waited. Link loved how green the grass was, how healthy it glowed, and how strong the wood of the trees were that dotted the plain. He also slipped into the old lady's dog racing farm, and for what seemed to be seconds that were really many minutes, he found himself playing with the dogs more than he was racing them. The kokiri boy then returned from the racing farm and met with Romani, who was playing what Malon and Cremia had dubbed the Alien Game. She had a toy bow and arrow set and was taking aim and firing at a large red balloon with rope arms and a lantern-body to keep it from flying away.

It was a game to Malon and Cremia, but according to Romani, it was her training. Apparently on the night prior to some Carnival that Termina celebrated, aliens would always come down to the ranch and steal cows from the barn. But this year, she had said, was going to be the year that Romani would fight back. While Link himself didn't have bows or arrows, he had a slingshot, and Romani seemed to be satisfactory with the make-do weapon so she allowed him to "train" with her. Link seemed to be having lots of fun, and Navi noticed overtime as he fired seed bullet after seed bullet at the ballon, that he was improving his aim.

Then a loud, shrill whistle interrupted their game and Link looked to its source and found the wagon with Malon at the front, reins in hand and Epona hitched to pull it. Bidding farewell to Romani, he jumped onto the wagon and sitted himself on the seat. Malon snapped the reins, and away they went, Epona trotting forward.

The ranch began to disappear as they went down the trail and onto the dirt road. Plains became ravines, then grassland, then back to the forested area that cloaked the entrance to the road, and the swampy entrance that begged him to go to it. But he shook away the temptation, that whatever he had to learn about what he needed to from the Great Fairy there he could surely get the same from the one in Clock Town.

"Keep you're slingshot out, kiddo." Malon advised, "That pesky bird might be about." Understanding, he whipped out his weapon and readied a deku nut in it, alert for any signs of a feathery bird of prey in the sky. Luckily, the bird must either have already eaten, was too lazy, or had learned its lesson not to attack Malon and was absolutely absent for the entire trip.

"Hey Malon, why do you and Cremia call Romani's alien hunting training thing a game?" Link asked as they exitted the Romani road entrance. The red haired teen never let her eyes wander from the sights infront of her, but occasionally she glanced back to Link.

"Romani says it's aliens; Cremia thinks she's just overimaginitive and using it to explain the odd-goings ons that always happen. I sorta just go with it. Cremia actually believes what her sister thinks she saw was an alien was really thieves."

"Thieves? What would they possibly want with the cows?" Navi asked.

Malon frowned, "It's not the animal, but the product thieves always want. The cows Lon-Romani Ranch has produce a particular milk that with the right handling is a delicious, and nutritious drink that sells as good as alcohol at a bar. That's truly the only value the cows have; their body weight is mostly comprised of fat, hide, and organs, and whatever meat is on them isn't exactly tender. They are literally born for milk."

"If that's it, then why can't the thieves get their own cows?" Link wondered, ignoring a rather prominant bump in the road that sent him and Malon flying up a foot into the air before gravity brought them back into their seat. "They're not that rare, are they?"

"Not on the ranch, but for some reason the cows won't breed calves or produce milk on any other land. We're still not sure why they do it freely and naturally on the ranch, but over the years...I've begun to wonder if it has to do with the secret my mother left me." Malon explained, though she seemed to become distant and cryptic at the end, thoughtful and entranced by whatever subject her mind pondered.

"A secret?" Link spoke.

Malon nodded, "But that's beside the point- Cremia thinks its thieves, but as I've already seen for myself, we only have one band we've ever seen or truly worried about...and that's the band we always meet on the nightly milk delivery."

"Milk delivery... and that's tonight!" Link gasped.

Malon nodded, serious and darkened by a heavy shadow on her shoulders. Then she brightened, though Navi instantly knew it was naught but a facade, "But ah, let me and Cremia worry about them. We still gotta get to Clock Town before we do any messing around!"

Link nodded, none-the-wiser at her change in face, but Navi still suspected. She left it alone, only so that perhaps later they could bring it back up; preferrbly after they got to the Great Fairy and were possibly back at the ranch. Navi didn't like how heavy and grim Malon's eyes were as she talked about thieves and the ranch, and Navi especially didn't like the solid gleam of fear as the ranch girl obviously thought about the thieves on the milk road.

*Clock Town*

The solid brick walls of the town came into view and were quickly getting bigger. Malon steered Epona to the correct gateway that they needed to arrive at, while Link was entranced by the large swirls of colorful paint on the wall. With the walls towering over him, he couldn't believe he'd never noticed how small he was in the funny thing was that he'd always stay that way; young and youthful. The soldier at the gate allowed them passage easily, and out of the shadows of the gate came the bright and boisterious streets of Clock Town to greet him once more. He recognized the area only because it was the same place he and Navi had used the Bombers' code to get into the alley and reluctantly travel through the sewers.

Malon carefully removed a folded up colorful parchment from inside her clothes and handed it to Link. "The map, as promised!"

"Thanks, Malon!"

She smiled, "Anytime! Now, should either of us finish our businesses first before the other, how about we meet one another right back here, in this spot?" she asked, pointing her finger at the ground they stood on. It was close to a large maypole with streamers connecting it to the buildings around it, while a few spare crates dotted around it. Absentminded juggler brothers tossed colorful balls nearby, but they seemed so absorbed in their routine that the presence of Malon, Link, Navi, and Epona didn't faze them one bit.

Link nodded, "Okay! See you later, Malon!" he called over his shoulder as he turned and left. Any reply Malon made went unheard as he and Navi dashed down a random road and into a different sector of Clock Town. He opened up the map Malon had just given him and looked over it, eyes scouring for clues as to where he was and where he needed to go.

"I think we're in the South sector..." Link pointed at a particular sector, "...yeah, because there's the big clock tower, just as the map says!" he grinned.  
Navi floated close, looking over his shoulder and taking her time, "...and in the corner of the sector above us right there; it has some icon that I can barely read, but I'm pretty sure it says something about a Fairy."

"That must be it! And what sector is that?" wondered Link as he searched for the exact icon his fairy had mentioned. "...North! Aha! Alright Navi, let's go!" he commanded, rolling the map up and sticking it into an empty clip on his belt. The duo took off running as fast as Link could go while keeping up with his entered the sector Link had decided was what they were looking for on the map, and was surprised to find he recognized it. It was the same place where he had first woken up, and where he had met Jim and the Bombers.

"Well what do ya know...right back at the start, aren't we?" came Navi's comment, and Link wondered if she was being sarcastic and disappointed, or thoughtful and sentimental. He checked the map, twice, and and wondered if the fairy icon was meaning the strange, open-mouthed cavern to his left, the one that awaited after a quick running ramp of grass and ground.

Deciding it was and that he'd just have to go and see, Link ran up the ramp and entered the shadows inside. It was decidedly dark for a while, and with his footsteps echoing off the rock Link began to wonder how long the tunnel went. A light greeted him, vanquishing thoughts of walking forever down the tunnel, and a gorgeous fountain greeted his sight. Water fell off the sides of pillars, the entire floor, the fountains, the pillars, everything was carved out of the purest of white marble. Thick vines were hung like a decoration all around the entire area, and the shimmering pool at the center was a never-ending ripple of white and blue.

But...what was that fuzzy, glowing cloud of peach and yellow hovering over the pool? Link and Navi crept closer and his little blue fairy gasped, horrified, "What in Farore's name has happened to the Great Fairy?"

The cloud was actually a hovering crowd of peach and yellow glowing disfigured creatures, with jigsaw puzzle wings and baby-features. One particular creature slowly managed to glide its way to them and an ethereal, windy voice spoke to both child and fairy. ~"_Hear my plea!_"~

"What is it? What happened oh Great One?" voiced Navi to the disfigured creature.

~"_A Masked skull child has broken my spirit apart and scattered my pieces! I am without one piece, and have no power thus._"~

"That means we have to find the missing piece?" gulped Navi. "But, she-I mean, you- could be anywhere!"

~"_I sense the last of my pieces; my power is incomplete, and the missing me emenates from within the walls of this city. It is in South Clock Town, but I can see no more. Please, bring to me the missing piece of my power!_"~

Link hmphed, smiling to the many disfigured fairy bodies, "You can count on us, Great Fairy! We'll get you back to normal!" and without further ado Link turned his back on the fairy pieces and left the cave.

"Link, I'm glad you always want to help but we don't know our way around this town yet!"

"Maybe not," huffed Link as he ran down the ramp and took a sharp right turn down the archway, "but we do have a map! And I remembered that wherever the Clock Tower is, that's South Clock Town. So it stands to reason that all we have to do is search all around for another one of those Great Fairy bodies in South Clock Town, and we'll have the Great Fairy back in her old form in no time!" he came to full-screeching halt, and frowned, "Navi... what does the Great Fairy normally look like."

Navi made a face at him, "...Uhm...l-let's just focus on finding that missing fairy, okay?" Any further prodding he might have done was made null as she darted forward to start "looking", in reality to escape answering. Her partner ran to keep up, and both examined all they could of South Clock Town.

However, even after Navi sweeped through all the knooks and crannies and Link watched carefully for a hint of glowing peach and gold light, neither had any luck. Until absentmindedly Navi watched the quick-footed postman duck-walk his routine, and she saw him go down a path she had never noticed. grabbing Link's attention, they left to explore and found themselves at the edge of Clock Town's main laundry cleaning area; water from a river that flowed into Clock Town entered and exitted through the laundry area, and on a bench with a wierd music-playing machine box was a...creepy... looking old guy.

Luckily, said creepy old guy was fast asleep, so the man was oblivious to the presence of the shining Great Fairy body hovering over the river. Without thinking Link immediately sprinted forward and leapt off the ground. "I've got it!"

Unfortunately, his trajectory was totally off and instead of grabbing the fairy in midair like he had intended, he fell head-first into the river water. The fairy boy came back up, spitting out water.

"Nice try." Navi chuckled, amused.

"I'd like to see you do better." he pouted, swimming over to the edge and climbing out.

"How about instead of just jumping and hoping you get it..." Navi began and she flew over to the floating fairy body, and kept close to it, "...you just aim for it like we usually do whenever we're battling and then jump?"

Link wringed the water out of his hat and set it aside. "Why didn't I think of that?" he wondered. He backed up a few paces, then retried his running leap- but this time he was able to aim his jump with Navi, and he was able to snatch the fairy right out of the air. his trajectory somehow managed to throw him farther, so instead he found himself rolling on the dirt and then-

BONK!

"OOWWW...!" he fell back, pain throbbing his forehead.

"Oooo..." Navi voiced with a flinch, " that sounded like it hurt."

Link groaned, "Trust me, it does."

"Five rupees says it'll leave a mark."

"You're o-wait, what are you gonna do with rupees, anyway? You're a fairy!" Link moaned, his hands up in his face and over the aching bump where his head had collided with the brickwall, as if his hands could somehow absorb the pain out of it and fix it just by hovering a centimeter over the place.

Navi shrugged, "It's just a saying- for us fairies, anyway. Silly people, always taking it literally..."

He groaned, "Shouldn't you be, I dunno, being more sympathetic?" and he started to stand up- or at least lift his upper body. he turned so he could lean on the wall, and he nearly jumped when he noticed the glowing peachy body in front of his face.

A stare-off ensued between Kokiri boy and fairy piece, and before long Link gave up- "Guess we better get you back to the rest of you quick, huh?" The fairy body simply hovered in front of him, making no noise or sound save for its jigsaw wings flapping.

"...I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

Yes, I know I'm STILL just effing around with you guys but it's ok! Cause next chapter I promise- I _promise_!- some stuff shall be explained and then...hee hee..._more_ character introductions! Le haha *french laugh!* In fact, if you look carefully, you might find some minor foreshadowing.

...also, I'm glad you fav my story- but you know what I like more? REVIEWSSSSSSSSSS.

-KO13


	5. Chapter 5

I'm lazy. And yet strangely persistent at updating this story, despite that apparently NOBODY reads it. Lame-o's.

Chapter 5

The Great Fairy of Bad News

* * *

"_Welcome, Hero... Please receive the blessings of the fairies..._" - Great Fairy, Twilight Princess

* * *

*North Clock Town*

With fairy cupped in his hands like a fragile glass toy, Link and Navi navigated back to the entrance to the Great Fairy's cavern in North Clock Town. The fairy began vibrating in his hands the closer they got, as if it could sense the presence of the other pieces awaiting it. It trembled, power surging back and forth like a pulse, and once Link's boots touched the rippling surface of the water in the center pool, it flew straight from his hands.

It conjoined with the other fairy pieces and they swirled around each other like a swarm, peachy bodies blurring together until they began to form into one. A fierce body of magical power surged like a tidal wave and Link almost flew off his feet from the sheer force. In a burst of lights and sparkles appeared a tall womanly figure.

Nature itself was the woman's clothes and only vines and leaves covered her body, save for the dark boots that her feet fell into, which appeared for all intents and purposes as if a master had made them for the sole purpose of being. What appeared to be makeup on the lids of her eyes were actually the natural markings of her skin to match her golden, long mane of deep-orange hair that flowed like a river behind her. if one were to look carefully, you might could even see the faint outline of a shimmering plethora of colors trailing from her back to the floor: her wings, perhaps.

The Great Fairy stretched her entire body, a satisfied, gleeful laugh emitting from her throat before she finally lowered closer to the ground. As if on an invisible cot, she flattened her body to appear lying down, hands crossed for her head to lay on, and finally she lowered her gaze and her ethereal eyes met the mortal blues of Link and Navi.

~"_Thank you, young child, and faithful fairy, for returning my missing piece and restoring my body. I am the Great Fairy of Magic who resides in Clock Town, and I am one of five that preside in this land of Termina._"~

"Great Fairy, who did that to you? It had to be someone powerful, to have split your great powers apart!" Navi voiced.

~"_It was a skull child, with a strange, and evil mask upon his face. The skull child was once long ago a child of the land like all others around you; but his feet led him astray, he became lost, and the magic of a forest has changed his form for his mistake, forever._"~

"Skull child..." Navi mulled, until she rang with a realization, "You mean a Skull Kid? A Skull Kid did this to you?"

"Navi, what's a Skull Kid?" Link inquired curiously. The blue fairy turned to him, happy to answer.

"A Skull Kid is what we call lost kids back home; whenever children, regardless of whether or not they're Kokiri or Hylian, get lost in the Lost Woods, the magic that runs rampant there takes hold of them and transforms them. They can never return to their former state, and are doomed to wander the forest as one of its prisoners forever." she explained. "The Deku Tree told me, that some of them are friendly, but that some let the magic transform their hearts too and they become as monstrous on the inside as they look on the outside."

"Did the Deku Tree tell you all of that?" he wondered.

"Yes, as well as many other things..." Navi replied, hesitant to talk of their deceased guardian, "...I've been around for quite a while, waiting for you."

"...me too, Navi." he smiled, grateful.

"Anyway-how did you know about the skull kid, Great Fairy?"

~"_I have watched over all who live upon Termina, and I have seen the child's actions as I have seen all others. His loneliness brought him to our land, and a desire for love, or perhaps attention, took his heart and made him a child of trickery and jealousy. He has long been a simple pest to the minds of those he picks his tricks on, but fate seems to have brought him to a magical mask; one that was carved once long ago in blood, hate, and death and has since then fed off the darkness in all hearts. It is an evil mask, with a horrible power that has grown over the centuries and now even my own is no match for it._"~

A horrified gasp was Navi and Link's first reaction to all that the Great fairy had spoken. "That is horrible!"

Link sported a sad frown, "And to think... he was only lonely, in the beginning." The Great Fairy nodded, seeming to understand his sympathy for the Skull Kid.

~"_But fate still awaits its move; I am watching, as are my sisters, over the skull child, and for now he sleeps. Termina shall remain secure and unchanged until Fate makes its move, and for the mask to awaken once more to wreak havoc. We must let the future alone for now, and let us first wonder of the present. Young child, what has brought your brave soul to my domain?_"~

"Well, Great Fairy, you see..." and Link began a long story of how he and Navi had gotten taken away from home by the mysterious shadow creature. Minutes passed as he told her their story, how they have sought the wisdom and Shikashi, and now her own wisdom as they searched for what they both desired most. A way back home.

"And we were hoping that you would know how we can get back." concluded Navi for him, Link winded from his long oration.

The Great Fairy was silent for a long time, her eyes unblinking as her beautiful figure continued to bob like a wave in water in the air, and hair flowing as a river. Then, finally, she seemed to snap out of a trance, and the hum of power that Link hadn't noticed vibrating the air came to a screeching halt in activity. Finally, the Fairy opened her mouth and spoke.

~"_Brave, young one, and Navi; you have come a long way to seek my aid, and for your selfless acts to restore my body I must repay you._"~

Navi and Link whooped, jumping five feet it seemed into the air in joy, until the gravity of the Great Fairy's voice continued, and all joy ceased.

~"_However, I have used my power to seek the door to your world, and I regret to inform you; there is none. The path this shadow entity used to bring you to our land has closed, and it shall not open for you. I am sorry, but you cannot return through that door. No amount of fairy power will ever be able to open it either, I fear. This is a door that which neither I or my sisters have the key to give to you._"~

"No...no, that...that can't be!" Link cried. "That can't be! There must be a way, Great Fairy! There has to!"

"Yeah, we can't stay here in Termina forever! We have to return to our home! Who knows what could happen to the forest without me or Link?" Navi snapped, any respectful mannerisms she had used to the superior Fairy gone in the wake of her rage, her pain, her utter hopelessness, " Without us, who will help plant and grow the Deku Tree Sapling that awaits in the grove of the dead Great Deku Tree?"

"And without us there to protect the grove, for all we know evil monsters could have settled there, and then the Forest will be helpless! Everyone we know will be hurt, or worse, killed, and we will never be able to save them!" Link snarled. Horrifying images filled his head, of Saria and even Mido, of all the Kokiri and he couldn't stop the rage in him even if he wanted to.

The Great Fairy raised one finger at them; both fell silent, their rage dissipating like vapor.

~"_Do not yet mourn for your situation; for every door that closes, another shall open. A new path to your homeland can be carved, but with what will be a discovery only you can find. All you must do is start looking._"~

"Start looking..." repeated Link, his voice hurt and fatally lacking in light, "...wonder how long that'll take..."

~"_It will not be easy, but do not be troubled. An ally is always just a corner away. Have faith, and you will be rewarded in ways you cannot imagine. As payment of your selfless act of restoring me...I will grant my power onto you; may it bring you aid._"~

The Great Fairy then lifted her hands up and faced her palms out at Link. the delicate fingers glowed for a split second, and suddenly Link was surrounded by a bright ring of yellow light. He felt weightless, as the ring of light flowed with energy, coursing power through his tiny body at such a rate that he almost felt dizzy.

The light faded, and Link regained clarity of mind...but he strangely felt no different than before. "I don't understand, Great Fairy."

~"_You will learn to use it, with the right mentor, but I have given you the gift of magic. With magic at your command, you will be able to focus your power and make your attacks stronger, faster even. Plus, should you ever visit my sisters, this gift will allow you to receive whatever gifts they have to give to you as well. It may not be much, to you, but it is all I can give you, to repay you for restoring me._"~

Link nodded, "Okay. That makes sense...sorta."

The Fairy smiled, satisfied. ~"_Should you ever become weary, return to my pool and I shall have my fairies replenish your body._"~

"Thanks," Link smiled back, though it felt...empty, somehow, "I'm very grateful to you for your help, Great Fairy." he and Navi, their business hence done, turned to leave.

~"_And Link, Navi,_"~ called the Great fairy, catching them before they were encompassed in the darkness of the path that would lead them back to Clock Town, ~"_Termina is larger than you may think. But always remember, there are four who, if you simply look for them, will always be willing to help. All you must do is call them to order, and they will come._"~

*South Clock Town-East Clock Town*

"Okay, so maybe I had lied a bit... it's going to take longer than I thought." huffed red-haired Malon, as she sat on a crate and watched the merchant slowly, so painfully slowly fill her wagon up with cargo. Seriously, it shouldn't be taking this long! All Cremia and the ranch needed were a few dozen more bags of feed, a saddle they had ordered some time ago for the few other horses they had, and some other farm equipment. But no, the merchant was taking his sweet time.

"It's probably his way of getting vengeance on me for that incredibly awesome bargain I forced him into." she sighed. She felt so bored, and Epona was resting in the stables; probably giving the stable hands heart attacks; that horse could be so wild, and yet for Malon she was the sweetest, most tame thing to walk the earth!

...Maybe Link was having better luck with that Great Fairy. In fact, she perked, maybe he was already done and was waiting impatiently for the red head to return as promised!

"Well, looking for him should be a breeze, considering he's the only kid around town walking around in nothing but green." she thought to herself, lifting her body off the crate and habitually dusting off her long red-violet skirt. Her hands softened their hard slaps at the dust as they glided across the tan embroidered skirt banner, the engraved words and slightly identifiable pictures bringing a warm comfort and heart breaking pain into her heart.

"This will give me something to do, for at least a little while." Malon reassured herself, and she told one of the workers helping load the wagon that she'd be back soon. It was only twelve, lunch time, according to the large Clock at the center, so she had plenty of time to find him. The farm girl exited the South sector and walked up the steps that took her into the wide, festive Eastern quarter of Clock Town.

Malon took her time looking for the green-clothed boy and his bright blue fairy; after all, she had at least five hours before they would _really_ have to be on their way back to the ranch. They had milk to deliver, after all, and it was quite difficult to do so with no wagon. Granted, then she and Cremia wouldn't have to deal with the thieves at night but still; no milk was bad news for the ranch. And bad news was good news for the Gorman Brothers, and neither the sisters or Malon desired to freely hand over anything to the Gorman Brothers.

The first place she looked was the spot they had promised to meet with each other at near the maypole with the two jugglers. No luck. She went on to the Stock Pot Inn, but Anju, who ran the Inn, told her she had never seen such a person when Malon described the blonde-haired boy. Oh well, Malon thought, and she went on to explore the rest of East Clock Town, but found it was no use. Not a sign of Link.

"Maybe he's in a different quarter..." she wondered briefly. Malon then hunted around North Clock Town, but found not a trace there either. Next she tried the long-winded streets of West, but only found herself almost getting conned into a rip-off sales by one of the merchants there; but she did manage to elbow her way to the money bank, and withdrew a few rupees from her account, so that was a plus.

Eventually she found herself right back at South Clock Town, with no signs of a fairy boy anywhere. Malon sighed; okay, this could take longer than she expected...

"A fairy boy?" repeated the mailman, jogging in place. The mailman was fond of running, be it on his route or to practice, for cardio, or just for the heck of it, and he would frequently sprint all around Clock Town at multiple times of the day. Luckily, Malon had caught him and questioned him about sighting Link.

"Hmm...I might have seen him- all I saw was a blur of green go down the alleyway into the laundry area, before I had already turned the corner." he said.

Malon almost did a happy dance on the spot, and thanked him for his time. The mailman returned the respectable reply and went sprinting out of her sight. Malon, on the other hand, simply speed-walked up the stair-ramp into the laundry area. She peeked around the corner, and caught sight of a green and yellow blob on the small railless bridge against the wall, and instantly knew.

"Finally, I found you!" she laughed, walking over to him, "Sheesh, you had me running all across..." the rest of her sentence died a horrible, painful death as did the playfulness in her voice once the realization hit her that the boy wasn't at all as happy as she was.

He was hunched over, legs folded and arms perched atop the knees and crossed with his face buried between them and his chest. A quiet gasp of air kept escaping from his hidden face, his back trembling form the effort of holding something back, and Navi was on his shoulder, wings drooped sad and sympathy coloring her aura a darkened blue.

Malon came close, laying a hand on his back and hunching her own form over, "Hey, kiddo, what's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked him softly, rubbing her hand across his back.

"N-nothing happened..." he spoke, but Malon knew it was a white-faced lie.

"Navi?" Malon turned to, hoping the fairy would answer her.

The blue aura seemed to darken with apprehension, "I'm not sure it should be said..."

Malon bit her lip, unsure of how to next act or speak under the circumstances. Navi sensed her uncertainty, and seemed to decide it would be okay, just this once.

"We found the Great Fairy, and asked her about how to fix our dilemma but...she said it couldn't be fixed, and that we'd have to go somewhere else to put things right." the fairy summed up, vague on the details so as not to reveal the truth about her and Link. Malon could sense it wasn't the entire story, but it would have to do.

"So she just said she wouldn't help at all?"

"She said she couldn't. That she wouldn't be able to help us at all." Navi croaked, her voice sounding tight and hoarse now that Malon listened to it. Had she been crying...?

Malon frowned. She opened her mouth to ask about it further, but a hoarse voice snapped her attention away and toward the source.

"S-she said..." Link sniffled, "The Gr-great fairy said she co-couldn't...couldn't help us get-get home..." he sounded so choked up that Malon knew now, for sure that he was crying and was trying to stop the tears from falling. Ultimately, he was failing however.

"Home?"

His head bobbed a "yes", and he choked out, "She said me and-and Navi would never be able to get back home and-and now I'll never get to make a shield with th-the store twins, o-or yell at Mido-o-o or-or play with S-Saria o-or ever see the K-Kokiri Forest ever again!" he finished with a high-pitched, hoarse cry.

Kokiri Forest.

The word echoed like a drop of water in a cave, or the crow of the loudest cuccoo in the silence of dawn. It hit her like a chill of ice water down her back, that she knew that name, had heard of it before, heard it mentioned once in...

|_"No one's ever returned from Kokiri Forest, and it's all because of those damn Lost Woods. Keeps getting people lost; and that's why maps don't exist on the subject of the forest."_|

"You and Navi...you're from Hyrule too...!" she whispered, almost too loudly as the realization struck her dumb, but only Navi heard it.

But if that was true, and the Great Fairy had said they couldn't go back... that meant...

"Huh? How do you know about Hyrule!" Navi questioned, alarmed at Malon's use of the word.

Malon was about to answer, but thought better of it; she had a Kokiri boy to comfort, after all. "Hey, it's going to be okay, Link. Listen to me," she started, making her voice soft yet solid at the same time, "it's going to be okay."

"How?" he cried, "How is it going to be okay?"

"Because...because we'll make it okay. The Great Fairy said we-you two couldn't get home through her help, but that doesn't mean you should just give up!" Malon started, a fire building up in her heart, "I mean, you have your sword, and Navi...you've got a lot more to work with than I do; all I have is Epona. Maybe not through the Great Fairy, but I just know there'll be another way for you to get home."

"...but how will I ever find it?" came his hopeless reply. The sheer lack of hope, the injusticed despair in his tone almost made her heart break. But Malon was adamant.

Malon shrugged, though he wouldn't see it, and she whispered into his ear, "Maybe you should just start looking."

"...that's what the Great Fairy said." he noted.

"Well, maybe she's right then. Sometimes, the easiest path is the hardest one to travel. Just start looking, Link. And once you find your first clue, you'll know, and all you have to do is just stick with it." she reassured, patting his back.

The sniffeling halted, and Link finally lifted up his head from his arms to look at her. His eyes were red and puffy, and tear streaks were all down his cheeks, but his eyes themselves, those adorable baby blues... they weren't at all dull, or despair-ridden anymore. In fact, they looked bright, like a light was coming back into them.

"You mean it? You really think so?" he asked, sniffeling a bit.

Malon smiled at him, wiping away a few of the tears that threatened to fulfill their journey down his eye to his jaw. "Fairy boy, I _know_ so..." an idea struck her, a wonderful idea, "Come on, let's go."

"W-where are we going?" Link inquired, as Malon helped him to his feet.

"_We_ are going to turn that frown upside down, stop thinking about all this depressive angsty stuff, and have some fun. Because we still have four hours left before we actually need to get back to the ranch, and I am _definitely_ not spending all four hours sitting around like a bump on a log!"

Link laughed half-heartedly at her analogy, "I-I guess so."

"Alright fairy boy; prepare for the time of your life, because I know _all_ the best places for Clock Town fun!" Malon grinned, and she led him easily out of the laundry area and into the hustle and bustle of Clock Town.

Time became a passing blur for three hours. Malon, true to her word, brought her friend to every single place there was in Clock Town that could be considered fun. She was so thankful she had withdrawn those extra rupees, too, because most of it she found herself spending on random items that she noticd would make the fairy boy smile. They played all through the hours, whether it was at the Shooting Gallery, the manager of which had finally decided to let Link play it with his slingshot due to some Malon-style persuasion, to cracking jokes at the odd jawline of the Mailman, to even playing another game of Hide-and-Seek with the Bombers Squad.

They played with face painting, treasure block games, and even managed to convince the juggling brothers in East Clock Town to teach them the basics of juggling. While neither of them had the talent of the brothers, the three friends Malon, Link, and Navi, were quickly laughing as they humorously failed or succeeded in doing basic juggling routines.

Link's favorite was where he and Malon would toss theballs into the air, do a quick series of actions such as jumping jacks or spinning around three times and clapping twice, and then catch the balls that were falling toward them. Finally, at the last available hour of play time, Malon, Link, and Navi had settled on the tall platform of the Clock Tower, snacking on a treat Malon had bought for them.

"Malon..." began Link, thoughtfully but to her pleasure, there was a solid smile still on his lips from their previous activity. She turned, ignorant of the smudging face paint he had gotten on his; it reminded her a lot of a keaton, the magical fox creatures, and it was quite adorable on his childish face.

"Yes Link?"

The paint on Malon's face had long since been smudged, but the remnants of solid lines were still there; she had gone with a semi-tribal design, but as it had smudged it looked like some silly squiggles. Honestly, she didn't care, but Link thought it was kind of funny.

"Can...can I tell you something? It's supposed to be a secret, but I...I really want you to know the truth."

Malon nodded, wondering if this was smething he had been carrying on his shoulders for a while now or not. Link inhaled, preparing himself for something that neither he, Navi, or Malon were quite sure they would be prepared for.

Then "I'm not from Termina."

"...I know." Malon replied, taking a bite of the last of her treat and chewing.

Link did a double-take, caught off guard by her lack of reaction, or that she wasn't screaming dramatically, "Wait-huh? What do you mean you know?"

"I know because..." she paused, thinking on how to carefully word her reply, but the little voice inside of her head kept encouraging her to be bluntly honest, "Okay, here it goes... I'm not from Termina either. I'm from Hyrule."

Navi's body rang as she exclaimed, "I knew it! That's why you said that thing about Hyrule!"

"So, you mean... we're not the only ones here?" gasped Link. He wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to be happy that he and Navi weren't alone anymore in this strange land, or sad that she too was stuck, helpless and hopeless as he was.

Malon nodded, her mood void of the joy it had initially had, "Yes. So, lucky you, you're not so alone...but if what you said about the Great Fairy is true..."

Link bit his lip, and his fairy decided to speak for the three of them.

"Then none of us are going home; at least, not the way we came, according to the Fairy."

Malon began to wonder about the Great Fairy, and what all she had said to Link. "Was that all she had said? That it's hopeless?" the farm girl asked, swinging her hanging feet back and forth like a child might do.

Navi offhandedly noted, "She didn't say it was hopeless... just that we wouldn't be able to ever go home the way we came. And the problem is that we don't know where or how we got here."

The red-haired Hylian's ears perked up at the fairy's statement, a few of the words catching her attention. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"We were taken here, unconscious." Link growled, his voice becoming angry and distant, "A hooded shadow man appeared out of nowhere and knocked me and Navi out while we were helping the Great Deku Tree, our guardian of the Forest, be rid of a monster in his body." The bitter anger and hurt in his voice spoke multitudes, and yet Malon had the feeling she would never truly comprehend what he was feeling as he spoke.

"He killed the Great Deku Tree, and knocked us unconscious... and when I woke up, Link and I were here." Navi finished up for him. Malon rested her hand on his shoulder, patting it in hopes of handing him comfort.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Link." was all Malon found herself saying to the troubled Kokiri youth; all the other words, phrases, and heartfelt sentences that floated about her head that she could have added just seemed wrong and out of place to say, no matter how they were being worded in her brain.

"It's okay..." He swallowed a large lump in his throat, blinked away tears that were forming his tearducts, and then Link turned to her. "Malon, if you don't mind me asking; how did you get here? Did the shadow man attack you and your sisters too?"

Malon frowned, red eyebrows furrowing downward into creases, "Well, I'm going to have to be honest with you Link... Cremia and Romani aren't my sisters. In fact, we aren't in any way related."

It was Link's turn to frown, confusion settling over his mind as heavy blankets do over thin mattresses or tucked in sleepers. Navi too shared in the bamboozlement, her aura changing from dark and gloomy blue to a crazy swirl of teal and navy.

"You're not! But-but you and Romani have so much alike and you 'n Cremia practically appear to be twins!" he exclaimed, almost jumping straight to his feet.

Malon shrugged, "I know; the only difference between us is that I have Epona. I'm...still having trouble getting over it, too. Romani so oftenly mistakes me and Cremia for the other, it's troublesome."

"O-oh..." stuttered her blonde companion.

"So, you and Epona then... you two were taken here too, by the shadow man?"

"I'm not wholy sure." Malon replied to the blue fairy, whose aura seemed to have settled down to a calm turquoise. "For some reason, I couldn't truly see such the creature as you have described that was attacking us until he was right up on me, Epona, and... a woman. Before I could do anything, though, everything went black, and I found myself alone with Epona on the ranch."

"And you've been there ever since?" wondered Link.

She nodded, "Yep. It's not home, but it's not so bad. The land is healthy, the area's wide for Epona to ride all across, and the chores and work are much the same as they were back home..." something struck her odd, and as her tongue reworked over her sentence one word stuck.

"Home...! Oh goddesses, we need to be getting back to the ranch!" Malon jumped to her feet, looking over the entire area of South Clock Town in search of the merchants loading the wagon, "Cremia's waiting for us so we can deliver the milk tonight!"

"That's right! Oh Navi, we got to go!"

The three Hylians made their way down the tower and made sure not to lose each other as they slipped through the crowd, Malon at the front and Navi behind. They found the wagon, fully stocked up with a fully rested Epona waiting her master. Malon had to hook the mare up to the wagon herself, assuming that none of the stablehands had the guts to try to do so themselves or because Epona wouldn't let them come near. But after a good ten minutes of making sure every strap, buckle, belt, and rein were correctly in place, all that was left was the ride home.

A snap of the reins was all it took and soon they were out of Clock Town and passing by the scenery of Termina Field, the sun hanging low on the horizon. Link readied his slingshot for the nasty old buzzard, and Navi whizzed around the wagon as a watch while Malon drove. While they drove down Romani Road, Link couldn't help but notice the intense gaze Malon sent down the dual entrances toward another farm, the Gorman Farms that were "rivals" to Romani.

The cautious, wary look was enough to explain to Link how the red haired teen felt about the Gorman Brothers. But this look was slightly odd; it was the same look Saria had whenever she knew, _knew_ that Mido was lying about Link doing something wrong when it fact Mido had. It was that accusatory glare that Link saw Malon throw down both entrances.

The ranch came into sight as the wagon wheeled up the hill, and at the front doors of the barn, rolling out milk barrels with her little sister's assistance was the ever patient Cremia. Once at the barn Link and Malon hopped off the seats and began unloading the wagon's cargo of supplies and replacing it with milk.

"Did you see the Gorman's outside?" Cremia asked Malon as they switched their loads, Malon's armful of supplies with Cremia's milk barrel.

Malon shook her head, rolling the bottom rim of the barrel onto the wagon until Link got a hold of it and pulled it to the back, "No, but I doubt that'll mean we won't run into..._them_. I'm beginning to believe they wait for the wagon to return before that road block is set up."

"Who's "them", Malon?" Link asked, catching tidbits of their conversation.

"They only appear at night, and only when we are forced to take the milk wagon down the Gorman brothers' land do we ever come across them." Malon vaguely explained."

"Who or what are they though?" Navi correctly asked.

"Thieves. They're a ruthless band too. Sometimes Cremia and I are able to fend them off and deliver every milk barrel; and sometimes we're lucky to even have one left."

"That's awful..." Navi sympathized.

The fairy and boy went silent for a passing moment, then their eyes, like magnets, found each other and a knowing look was all either needed to know what the other was thinking. Link smirked, "Okay Malon, Navi and I have decided; we're gonna try to help you out tonight with this thief problem!" he announced with a grin.

Malon flinched, "But Link, these aren't normal thieves! Sure, two of them we can sometimes manage but the third..." she shivered as if shaken by a cold touch, " the third is the one Cremia and I fear. He or she, they aren't always on the raids, but whenever they are, the raid almost goes off without a single hitch!"

Link shrugged, "No problem! All me and Navi gotta do is shoot 'em a few times with the Slingshot and they'll be done before long! And then we'll be in Clock Town, safe, and with a full wagon of milk deliver!"

"but-"

"Actually," Cremia jumped into the conversation, reflective as she passed the final milk barrel to Malon and in turn took the final supplies off, "that might not be a bad idea. We don't have very much to defend the wagon with- just a pitchfork if ever. But Link, you have a slingshot; it's not as fancy or as powerful as a bow and arrow, but our intention isn't to kill the thieves, just force them off us, or at the very least convicne them to stop raiding us."

Link puffed up, pleased that Cremia was on his side. "And believe me, they aren't a fancy pair of bows and arrows, but it packs a lot of punch for a slingshot."

"But Cremia- we don't have any horses for him to ride, and Epona won't listen to anyone but me! Where's he going to be?" Malon tried to bring the argument back into her favor. It wasn't because she didn't like Link- on the contrary, she liked him a lot, he was as much of a little brother to her as Romani was a little sister. But as big sisters feel for their younger siblings, Malon didn't want him to get hurt. This wasn't some silly game, but a real, dangerous task.

The two that were always there, masked and on horseback, always had a sling pack full of pitchforks and would throw them at the wagon, and the pitchforks weren't blunt by any means. Malon would know, she had a horrid scar to prove it. It was pure luck she hadn't died that one night, and insanity that the next delivery she didn't die by the hand of the mysterious third thief; the one that she and Cremia truly feared, the one that only appeared a few times.

"He can ride in the back of the wagon. He's small enough we can fit him, and he'll have more than enough room to aim at the two on horseback that are always behind." Cremia defended for the fairy boy, watching him strap down all the milk barrels to the latches they had long ago nailed down for them, to keep them from rolling.

"So I'm going?" exclaimed a hopeful Link. He so badly wanted to go, to repay the kindness of the sisters and Malon for letting them stay. Cremia nodded, and he whooped. Malon on the other hand sighed, defeated.

"Malon, I'd like to talk to you though... there's going to be one slight change in our plans on how we're going to do this, and I'm going to need Epona and you..." Cremia whispered, and the two girls stepped aside to talk.

Link finished latching down the barrels, and by that time the two red heads were down talking. They took only enough time to switch Epona with a solid standing donkey to lead, and Malon took her horse off to small stable they had erected for her.

"Where's she going?" Link asked as he settled into his place at the back end of the wagon with Navi while Cremia climbed up to the seat at the front. Cremia didn't answer until she was confidently seated and with the reins of the donkey in her hands.

"She's going to put Romani to bed for me while we're gone, make sure the cows are locked in the barn with feed and water, and such." she said. "Are you ready for this, Link? Are you sure you want to do this? I won't lie; it can and it will get dangerous..."

Link grinned at her turned head, gave her a thumbs up, and said "I'm ready."

Satisfied with his answer, Cremia turned her head back to the plain in front of her and snapped the reins of the donkey and they disappeared into the darkness of the night.

* * *

So, I'm starting to wonder if I should try reverse psychology with you people...

DON'T REVIEW, and I WILL NOT UPDAAATE! WooooOOoooOoOOooOooOoOo I'M TOOOTALLY SPEAKING LIKE A GHOOOOST WOOooooOOOooOoOoOOoooooh

-KO13


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Malon to the Rescue

* * *

"_I have been waiting for you boy._ _For one like you...yes... for the Hero... Do not betray my expectations._" - Ganondorf, Wind Waker

* * *

This night was creepy.

Like, eerie creepy.

The crickets were awful quiet about their chirping, he faintly heard the caw of a crow somewhere- he thought, anyway- and the moon above produced enough light to see, but so much shadows that everything looked like something it wasn't.

Link had to admit, he was impressed with Cremia. She was totally calm, probably so used to this kind of a night that it didn't bother her at all. They had finished getting to the end of the trail and onto Romani Road... and the wagon came to a halt.

"What's wrong?" asked Link, as he couldn't see anything but the road they had passed.

"...the road block... we can't go over it, so..." she turned her head slowly to the side where an alternative pathway laid, but a grim shadow casted itself over Cremia's eyes. The alternative road was, in fact, the second entrance onto the horse race tracks of the Gorman Brothers' land. "We have no choice... Link, get out you're slingshot, and hang on. I'm going to try to get us through this alternate road as fast as I can."

Link nodded his compliancy, and Cremia turned the wagon down the road. She snapped the reins, and the wagon jerked forward as the donkey trotted faster and faster. Link gripped the side of the wagon as it first jerked forward to keep his balance until he had successfully regained it. Navi fluttered with a jingle and clenched the collar of his tunic with her tiny hands to keep from being knocked away by the wind.

They sped down the road, and as they did Link thought for a moment that the two shadows emerging from the cliffside were his imagination. The shadows emerged into the light of the moon, and what he thought to be shadows became horseback riders with a large cloth hood covering their faces. The sound of the hooves of the horses and the shine of something metallic hitched to the side of the saddles quickly convinced Link that the riders were real.

"Cremia, we have company!" Link spoke uneasily, loading the leather strap of his slingshot from his ammo satchel.

"Hold on tight, Link- this could get bumpy!" she warned, and as the riders got closer Cremia began to turn the donkey this way and that so that they would swerve along the track.

A flash of silver caught Link's attention and he looked just in time to duck a flying pitchfork. A hot sting on his shoulder told him he hadn't escaped it unscathed, and he was more than happy that it was only that tiny scratch. It lodged itself into the frame of the carriage, and Link struggled to knock it off before he aimed his slingshot and released a deku nut.

A loud smack and a small flash followed its impact at the face of one of the riders. He flailed and screamed in surprise at the quick but blinding flash, while his horse jumped and bucked as he fell behind. The other advanced up on him and Link aimed.

The nut smacked the rider in the arm instead of the face, and the distance that he fell behind with wasn't as significant as the brother. Still, any distance was good distance he supposed.

The one that had been blinded in the face came sprinting up, trying to recover lost ground and get back up close to the carriage. Link fired a seed at him and his recovering brother and both fell back again, but this time he noticed them advance again quicker. Link ducked a pitchfork as he reloaded the leather strap and fired at them. Then he grabbed the thrown pitchfork, twirled it around and threw it sideways, so that the solid rod would hit them like a clothesline.

The rider fumbled with the thrown object, lost it, and almost lost his balance with it. The brother came forward and used a pitchfork to knock away Link's ammo. He growled to himself; they were getting smart. He kept trying to hit the bandit, but the rider kept successfully blocking his body from getting hit by the seeds. Link panicked, the bandit so close that he was just a foot away, and he could clearly make out the hood-like mask covering their face with eerie yellow eyes that reflected the moon's light.

Then a brilliant idea hit him and Link loaded the strap, pulled back, aimed, and fired right at the leg of the bandit's horse. The horse screamed at the sudden attack on its leg, stumbled and fell over. Link inwardly did a happy dance, despite that the rider, after some fumbling around, managed to get back up and right back on their trail a minute or two later.

He was right in the middle of grabbing some more seeds from his satchel when Cremia yelled "Hold on!" and their wagon suddenly jumped high. For one long moment he was flying, weightless in the air. Then gravity kicked him down and Link fell hard into the floor. A small ripping sound alarmed him and when he glanced to investigate, he found to his horror his seed stachel, ripped and losing more nuts than he could possible spare.

He fumbled to catch as many as he could before they fell out.

"Only four left!"

"We'll have to make do!" Navi yelled, "They're getting right on us again!" True to her words, the two horseback bandits were coming closer again.

He shot one at them, making it three left, "Cremia! How much longer?" he yelled.

"Just a few more curves! We're just one home stretch away, try to hang in there!" she replied, snapping the reins, trying to urge her steed faster.

Link gulped, "I don't think three'll last me that long."

He shot once more, smacking the bandit right on his shoulder, making him fall back right in front of the other bandit.

"Make that two." said Navi.

"Navi, this isn't going to-what's that!" he pointed way down the road. Navi looked and they both watched a shadowy blur appear from the curve they had just passed. Light shed its way on them, and Link could barely make out the red hued colors and something shining in the moonlight by their side. Whoever it was,they were coming up fast though, faster than he'd ever seen anybody move. Fearful, he loaded his slingshot but something about them made him hesitate.

"Wait is that-is it-LINK!" Navi gasped.

The bandits must have heard the new rider appearing, and they looked back just in time for them to be whacked harsh in the head, first the one on his right then his left, by a solid, metal, circle-surface object that, upon impact, made a resounding crash like a small gong. Both riders were knocked right off their horses, and as the wagon flew farther down the road, the riders failed to get up. In fact they weren't even moving, appearing to be unconscious.

Link was utterly confused by the actions of the new rider, until he finally recognized the chesnut coat of the horse and the red haired, blue eyed gaze of the rider as they looked up at him from their horse and grinned at him cheekily.

"Malon! I thought you were back at the ranch!"

She grinned, "Cremia and I thought I should be the surprise back up for our little operation tonight! Seems like it was a wise choice now."

Link laughed, "You bet it was! I'm glad you came!"

"Me too, kiddo." she grinned. Her eyes flashed forward, sighting something in front of them, and screamed, pulling Epona's reins back, "WATCH OUT!"

Link turned just in time to see a large boulder hurling right at the wagon. Cremia screamed and sharply turned the reins to try to avoid collision. Unfortunately, the turn was too sharp, regardless of whether they would hit the boulder or not, and the wagon went toppling over. The wagon had missed the boulder, but the boulder smacked the earth right where Epona was, and sent horse and rider flying too. Time slowed for a moment as Link and Cremia went weightless with the wagon, mid air and then falling back to earth. he saw wood splinters from the wagon, and a few milk barrels topple out of it, but he could care less at that moment as he slammed into the hard ground.

He bounced and came to a sliding halt, and for a few seconds Link wondered what had happened. He got up, aching, and looked around. He couldn't see Cremia or Malon, only Epona struggling to her feet and screaming. Navi flew up into view, her flight dragging as if she was recovering from the fall as well.

"Malon! Cremia!" he yelled for them, hoping for an answer. Footsteps crunching on the ground caught his attention, and for one hopeful moment he believed it to be Malon, or Cremia, and he turned to greet them. Upon the sight of the person walking, however, all the hopefelt joy promptly died, replaced with a chilling horror.

Because the person approaching him, with a razor sharp curved scimitar in their hand and posed for the offensive was definitely not either of the teenaged girls. The darkness hindered Link's sight, so he couldn't distinguish all the features of this third bandit, only that unlike the other two, they wore no mask and their eyes were glowing like hot coals.

Link unsheathed his sword in haste, but before he could begin to grab his shield the third bandit kicked him twice, once to stop his arm from grabbing his shield and the second to totally knock out the sword from his hand. He didn't even have time to yell before he found the tip of the scimitar's shining blade right at his throat. Navi tried to help Link out by attacking the bandit's face, but the bandit raised a hand and smacked her away with a harsh backhand as if she were naught but a fly.

The bandit's eyes glowered at him, yellow irises aflame and for a long moment the bandit just sort of examined him like a hawk does its prey, before speaking, the bandit's low, baritone voice shocking him, "Hmph. You're pathetic." and he raised his sword diagonally to slice his throat and Link, whimpering, closed his eyes, praying the end would be quick.

BONG-G!

Link's eyes snapped open, the foreign sound clearly unexpected to his ears. The bandit's head was turned at an odd angle, and their eyes seemed to be looking past him, appearing...confused, and then like a dizzy drunk the bandit fell over to the side with a groan. As the bandit fell, the much smaller figure of Malon stood behind, huffing and with a frying pan in her hands, scratches and dirt marring her face but otherwise only shock and fatigue seemed to be her burdens.

"Are you all right, Link?"

Link scrambled to his feet and hugged Malon around the middle, "I'm so glad you're okay! I thought you were hurt or knocked out by that guy!"

"Nah." she hoarsely chuckled, "Just discombobulated. I'm glad it was only that though. I'd rather not imagine what would have happened if I were."

Link clutched at his throat, the scimitar's cold touch a fresh memory that he never wanted to relive, "No kidding. Where's Cremia?"

Malon motioned with her head, "Probably near the wagon. Why don't you go ahead and check on her, see if she's hurt? I'll make sure this guy's down and out. " Link nodded and left to find Cremia near the toppled over wagon while Malon, armed with the frying pan that had, thus far, proven to be quite a weapon in her hands, slowly approached the fallen, and hopefully subdued bandit.

"Cremia... Creeemia...?" Link called, hoping with every ounce of his little being that she was okay. He searched through the fallen wagon, noting that fallen over barrels of milk. A small puddle of the milk was forming from one of the barrels, meaning one of them was damaged. but, in general, the milk seemed fine besides the leaking one.

A pale hand raised itself out of a small collection of splintered wood, and Link saw the red haired Malon twin emerge from the wood. "Right here..."

Link sighed, and he lifted away some of the debri, "Oh, good. You're okay. Did you see what happened?"

She hesitantly got to her feet, brushing her clothes off, "Sort of. I heard something about Malon from you, so I assumed it was Malon behind us. But then the third bandit just appeared out of nowhere, right in front of us! Next thing I know is a giant boulder's flying right at us and I tried to turn to avoid it, but I lost control of the donkey and the wagon."

"I see..."

"Where is Malon?" Cremia, then she gasped, "And the other bandit! Where'd he go?"

Link explained how Malon miraculously knocked him out with her frying pan right before the bandit was going to kill him. Cremia's eyes widened at the feat, impressed. "A frying pan... who knew?"

"I know! So, uhm... Cremia... one of the milk barrels are damaged and leaking."

She frowned, "Is that all?"

He nodded, and she made a "hmph" noise. "...not bad. Link, you may just be our Lucky Charm." she said with a jovial smile.

Link giggled, "I try." Navi appeared, her flight dizzy again and he let her land in his hands, instantly his childish joy turning into an overboiling pot of worry. "Navi, are you okay?"

She groaned, "I'm never taking on bandits again. That hurt! But I'll be okay. Nothing a good night's rest can't cure, I'm sure." she joked. Link smiled, and hugged the fairy to his chest.

He helped Cremia tip the damaged carriage back on its wheels, and he did the same for the fallen milk barrels while Cremia assessed the damage.

"It's not so bad. Some of the ropes and draft forks for the donkey to be are broken, and one of the wheels could probably do with a replacement, but I'll just have to be careful on the rest of the journey." she concluded, and they both heaved the milk back onto the carriage. While Link retied the barrels to their latches, Cremia hitched her donkey back up, careful to keep it from hurting itself as she got it back onto its hooves and leading it back to the carriage.

"...Where's Malon?" she asked.

"Right here," came the twin voiced reply. Malon emerged from around the boulder rubble and the wagon, pulling Epona's reins and looking oddly troubled. "I need to speak with you alone, right now."

Cremia frowned, her and Link not liking the troubled shadows in Malon's eyes. "Okay?"

The two girls shooed off Link, who was overwhelmingly curious about what they had to say to each other again. He busied himself with kicking the dirt, and picking up the broken frame of the wagon that still laid on the ground, while his fairy Navi decided to do some eavesdropping. Their voices started to escalate, and while he still couldn't hear the subject, he could definitely tell it was becoming a heated argument.

"Navi, what are they talking about?" he whispered as he snuck close to the blue fairy.

"Something about the bandit Malon just knocked out. I think...oh my... Malon wants us to take him with us back to the ranch, but Cremia would rather us just hand him over to the guards in Clock Town or leave him to get eaten by fiends." Navi said quietly, trying to listen to the continuing argument of Malon and Cremia.

"What!" he gasped harshly, "Why would Malon want to take him back? That's insane! He just tried to kill us!"

"That's what Cremia's saying. But Malon says the Clock Town guards don't care about criminals outside of Clock Town, and that they'll only hold him for a while before he's free to get rehired by the other two bandits." Navi said, "Malon's arguing that if he wasn't with the other two bandits, they wouldn't have so much trouble going through this detour road. Cremia...says let the monsters have at him, and Malon doesn't believe it'd be right, to just leave him to die."

Link frowned, "I guess it wouldn't; it doesn't seem right to just leave him to stay with the bandits, and it just seems worse to leave him here to get eaten...But we can't take him back to the ranch! If he wakes up, he'll probably try to kill us!"

Navi nodded, "That's actually what Cremia just said...shoot, they're lowering their voices..." she said with a frown in her tone, and she paused to try to home in on thei quieted voices. "...okay...Cremia's saying something about being near Romani...and Malon said something about them being downstairs... and being a light sleeper?"

"What does light sleeping have to do with it?" Link wondered.

"If she's a light sleeper, she wakes up easily by noises and movements. I think she's meaning the bandit and herself can stay downstairs, so that he isn't close to Romani and she'll wake up if he moves since she's a light sleeper." Navi explained.

Link nodded, understanding that part now. "But why are they arguing? Wouldn't it just be easier to go with Cremia's idea?"

"Maybe, but Malon's arguing about what's the right thing to do... I think this is one of those "What's Right versus What's Safe" kinds of fights. Malon wants to do what she feels would be right, while Cremia wants to do what would be safe."

Link frowned, eyebrows creased, "There's a difference?"

"Right now there is, apparently." Navi replied, then continued to listen. she perked, "Wait... I think they're done...!" she flew around his head, and Link jumped away from the wagon and started to mess around with the leftover debri of the carriage, trying to look as if he hadn't just been eavesdropping on them through Navi.

Cremia looked angry, but she seemed to be holding back, sort of accepting actually. "Link, I believe I'll be able to deliver the milk by myself safely from here." malon hugged her non-related twin, who tried to refuse a return hug, but eventually sighed and gave Malon a hug back.

Link gulped, suddenly feeling not so great as his insides decided to squirm, and his spine turned colder. He had a feeling about who had won the argument...

"You'll be coming with Epona and I, back to the ranch...with a little extra _cargo_ to carry." Malon continued for Cremia, who was looking absolutely miserable with the turnout of the argument, but was willing to try to deal with it.

"Uhm... cargo?" he repeated, sharing a dreadful gazing glance between he and Navi.

*Romani Ranch*

Link did not feel comfortable at all.

It didn't matter that he was holding all the weapons Malon could find on the bandit (which, by the way, added up to be a scimitar, three throwing knives, two daggers, a short sword, a couple cherry bombs, five deku nuts, and a lockpick) and that said bandit was being carried on Epona's back like a sack of feed, and unconscious. It didn't matter that Malon was leading Epona by the reins, with her frying pan ready to smack the unconscious thief upside the head if he awoke early, and it certainly didn't matter that every possible second Navi was hanging overhead of the unconscious bandit, watching the limp body with every second that ticked by.

The very presence of the bandit made him nervous. His vivid imagination failed to calm him, as it imagined that at every possible second the bandit would shoot to his feet off the horse, snatch one of his weapons from Link and slaughter them all. It was scary, because he really didn't know for how long the bandit would be knocked out for, just by one hit to the head by a solid cast iron pan. He could tell by the anxious aqua green aura Navi had turned that his fairy felt the same. Malon was hiding it pretty well, if she felt that way at all; his only hint was the white of her knuckles as she clenched taut at the pan's handle.

Once they were within sight of the ranch, Malon instructed Link to go on ahead, to make sure Romani was asleep, that the downstairs area was secure and void of all sharp and pointy objects or objects that could be used as obvious potential weapons, and finally, that there would be a place for them to sleep.

He did so happily, preferring not to be in the bandit's unconscious presence for any longer than he had to, though Link sure felt bad that he was so eagerly leaving Malon alone in the dangerous presence of the thief. He quietly opened the front door and lit a lamp to see, and began to hunt around the house after he had checked the sister's bedroom for a sleeping Romani. By the time Malon had gotten to the steps, he had made sure to move all the utensils and objects he could find that looked potentially dangerous and was en route on setting up some make-shift cots and futons.

Door swept wide open and Epona properly enclosed in her stable, Link ended up having to help Malon carry the bandit's much taller, much heavier figure into the house. They roughly settled him onto the bed Link had made right between the wall to the stairs and the kitchen table, and after they made sure he was righted onto it properly, Malon set about to helping the fairy boy finish making their own beds.

But as they made the beds, Link couldn't help but stare at the unconscious criminal, especially after the initial shock of seeing him under the light of a lamp and not moonlight when they had first gotten him inside. He stole glances, and he wondered if Malon was too. But he just couldn't stop himself; the bandit was absolutely and totally different from anybody he had ever seen! Even amongst all the people he had seen in Clock Town, the plethora of different looking people, none were comparable to this!

At first he had simply thought the darkness of the night and his poor sight added together was why the bandit looked so shadowed; but under the lamp light, the bandit's skin was as dark and tanned as burnt wood. His flesh was so dark that Link was shocked he didn't simply melt into the shadows! And then from the bandit's scalp grew an unruly head of red hair- literally red, as red as blood! Not even Malon's hair compared to the color. It was like trying to compare an orange with that of-of-of a tomato!

And for one reason or another, there was some sort of decorative head ornament that looked exactly like a rupee encased in a gold clasp that sat on the bandit's forehead. It laid so perfectly on their forehead that it actually appeared as if it were melded into them. It was completely bizarre! Link had never seen such a thing! And now that he could see him better under the lamp, Link realized that despite the intimidating height, the bandit couldn't be no more than Malon's age, maybe a few years older!

And those eyes...would they be as flaming yellow as they had been under the moon? If they were to snap open right then, would they be the same hot amber as they appeared when they were burning holes into Link, or would the irises be a totally different shade?

Link must have been staring for too long that he had zoned out, because Malon said something to him and her voice barely managed to snap him back to reality.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry. I know neither you or Cremia want to be near him, and it must unnerve you to no end, being in the same room as him." she said, head low as they both settled a comforter down for Link's bed, which was situated at the very base of the stairs.

"Oh." Link voiced, finding himself too unsettled to be able to speak.

"But I know what I'm doing." she spoke, voice trying to play up a solid, confident tale that Link wasn't sure whether she was trying to convince him, or herself.

It seemed all he could do was nod in reply though. They had finally finished the beds and after an agreement to do watches starting with Malon, Link was made to settle into his fluffy, comfortable make-shift bed.

Exhaustion riddled his tiny body, and sleep weighed heavy on his eyelids... but no matter how many times he tossed and turned, he just couldn't get to sleep. It eluded him, and the fact that after all the action of the day, all the emotional turmoil he had faced during the day, it irked him that now when he needed it most he couldn't get to sleep.

"...can't sleep, huh?" Malon spoke after several minutes of his impatient tossing and turning.

He turned one last time onto his back and stared at the ceiling for what must have been the one hundredth time, and finally moaned with frustration growling in his throat, "Noo..."

A sympathetic "hmn" came from Malon, and for one long, quiet moment he thought she had gone back to watching the dead-to-the-world bandit. Then a strange sound began to softly fill the air. It was soft, and bare in the beginning but as Link began to try to listen in on it, it grew stronger, yet sweet. A rhythmic pattern began to be recognized, and Link wondered who was causing this odd noise. He lifted up from his bed and searched the room, but the only occupants of the room was the bandit, who's current status immediately crossed him off the list, Malon, and Navi. It wasn't Navi, because she was so close that any sound she made would be louder than this soft, sweet sound was.

That left Malon...

Link turned his head slightly more to the left and saw Malon, sitting up and slowly, but rhythmically, bouncing back and forth on her seat with her eyes closed and lips partially parted. She looked like she was sleeping, but she looked to focused, concentrative to be sleeping upright.

And then she saw her lips move, just slightly and right in time with the sound in the air as it changed pitch, and that was when Link realized.

Malon was singing.

"Fear no shade... hate no day... open hearts embrace." she began, and Link couldn't stop himself from listening to her sing even if he had wanted to; as if a spell had been cast over him, or maybe the song was the spell, it didn't matter which it was, because he and Navi were still enchanted.

"Come close, dear, don't be afraid...gently stays my ways... blow away...with the wind...all the heart's deep aches." she continued, and he began to hear a pattern in the song. However, he was beginning to feel heavy, and Link yawned.

"Sun-bathed plains, lake blue skies... Home, awaits!"

He snuggled into his bed, as drowsy and lethargic as a hibernating bear, and as his eyes closed for him to better listen to the sweet song consuming the room, Link slowly fell to dreams. They were sweet dreams, for the record; dreams of the forest, of his adventures with Saria, first meeting Navi and such. They were sweet, void of all bitterness and melancholy.

"Race the wind, bathe in the warm sun's loving rays...home-felt heart please stay here a day." Malon continued to sing, to lull her dear friend to sleep as her own mother used to long ago. It hurt, thinking about her mother, and it hurt more to wonder about her father. Was he holding up the ranch? Was he desperately in need of her help? Or worse... was he absolutely fine and dandy without his daughter?

The faint sound of shifting hay brought Malon's attention straight out of her thoughts and onto the source. For a moment, she swore she could see the supposedly knocked out thief move, if only a twitch...

Stress was getting to her, she concluded, after a long pause, in which she reminded herself that there was one last stanza to her song before it could end, or repeat.

"Come my dear, into my heart and I into yours... Let not the dark refuse you peace..." and from then on until her watch was to be over, Malon sat comfortably, a large bottle of non-alcoholic milk (the only kind Cremia kept around the house) by the table right next to her beloved frying pan, while she sang into the night.

* * *

She's singing an extended Epona's song. If you sing the words to the rhythm of Lon Lon Ranch, it'll match up, I promise. It should, anyway, considering I sat in front of my Gamecube, playing my Zelda Special Edition game, on Ocarina of Time, at the ranch, for almost an hour and a half to try to get the words right... anyway, the chapter feels like its missing some stuff, but I think it can be moved to next chapter. And I apologize (well...no, not really) to non-Malon-fans, but she's going to remain a major character here for quite a while, as well as show up lots.

SO! First person to guess who the bandit is gets...uhm... the Triforce of AWESOME. Reviews P-ELL-ZEE? (PLZ)

-KO13


	7. Chapter 7 EDIT

NOTE: EDITTING has been done on this chapter. It's right between where I've placed ~'s

Chapter Seven

The Super-long Chapter about Rude Wake-up Calls, Unfathomable Alliances, and Plans

* * *

"_Pathetic little fool! Do you realize who you're dealing with? I am Ganondorf, and soon I will rule the world!_" - Ganondorf, Ocarina of Time.

* * *

For a long while his dreams had been sweet. His dreams had centered around reliving his best memories of the forest; he was made to relive that one time he was with Saria, and they had somehow, _somehow_, become friends with a Skullkid. He relived his first adventure with Navi, in the Great Deku Tree, how shamefully giddy he had been, boasting about having a fairy to that mean Kokiri Mido. He liked that one festival they celebrated during the spring, because that was when Saria would play an uplifting tune on her tiny wooden ocarina while they all, even Link, danced.

Then, suddenly, all the sweet memories disappeared. A vision appeared, one that he soon discovered to be the farthest thing from a memory. He was in a vast, endless field of tall wheat on one side of a picket fence and smaller, green grass on the other. He heard singing, a tune that seemed as if it had been branded into his mind that it could never go away, and Link turned this way and that to find the source.

Malon was perched atop the fence, feet swinging as she sung her tune, carefree and happy.

"Malon?" he approached her, but her eyes were closed as if lost in another world, in a trance.

"Epona... Link-Navi... who else to my friend list? La-la-laaa..." she sang, the words matching the tune but they felt a bit wrong; as if she were singing the wrong words.

"Malon!" he exclaimed, waving his arms about and trying to get her attention. It was no use, though. For some reason, she was deaf to his voice, and just kept singing.

"Hey! Listen!" a voice chimed, and Link turned to find Navi, an empty wall of darkness behind her. "I hear something coming...Can you feel it? Maybe Malon knows!"

When he turned to ask the ranch girl, Link jumped, finding her gone, as well as the fence and the wheat fields. Gone were the sunny fields and replaced with it was the night-encompassed rock walls and trampled ground of the race tracks he knew belonged to someone mean and nasty. Yet the area was bright, from a full moon that Link could see almost perfectly as if it were daylight.

A shadow formed on the ground, with no origin or source. Like a rising snake, out emerged a tall figure, dark-skinned with a mane of fire on their head and a sparkling jewel on their brow. Eyes snapped open, and he found fire-irises glaring out at him. The tall boy, much bigger than him, unsheathed a wicked scimitar and Link did the same for his sword-only it wasn't his sword, but a stick! What was this? Where was his sword!

The boy he recalled being that intimidating thief from the road charged him, and Link dodged out of the way, bringing his shield from his back to his arm as further protection-wait, his shield was gone too! It wasn't but a giant leaf!

He was thrown to the floor by a wickedly strong force, which-_of course_- turned to be the crazed thief. He fell, harsh, yet there was no pain, and the taller male forced his scimitar against his throat. It barely cut into his skin, but depsite that he knew this had to be a dream, Link couldn't help the overwhelming wave of fear that suffocated him.

Navi appeared out of the corner of his eye, and relief replaced the fear. "Navi! Help me!"

She laughed, not at him but at something that caught the thief's attention.

"Oooh, you're gonna get the pan, now! Look, here she comes right now!" Navi giggled, excitedly and teasing as she zig-zagged around the air.

The thief turned away from Navi and Link and suddenly-

GONG!

Link snapped his eyes open, and screamed. The ceiling of the ranch house stared back at him, and his middle section of his body was ridiculously heavy from something being on it, and it did! The real bandit, not the dream one, was right on top of him! And he had a shining, sharp dagger in his hands, positioned to stab him! But something was off...

The dark skinned boy fell off of Link, his dagger falling out of his grip in favor of gripping a particular side of his head, snarling and shouting something that he was speaking far too fast for Link to catch.

Malon appeared from behind the fallen bandit, her iconic frying pan in her hands and an angry, vicious glare upon the bandit's figure.

"That is _not_ how you wake up people who willingly give you room and board, despite that you just tried to kill and rob them, and especially not in this house!" she snapped, then helped Link up from his bed. He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, and grabbed the nearest object and put it between himself and the floored bandit.

_(*)_"Ydavesha kzedaej din asezhet!" the bandit snarled, gripping his head. Link could imagine being hit with a solid metal object, like an iron pan, would hurt, but he didn't know it would hurt so much that it would cause the bandit to speak jibberish!

Malon, shockingly, seemed to undertsand, or maybe she was just assuming what the Milk Road Thief meant, and she rolled her eyes at him. She picked up the dropped dagger, and slipped it into her dress sash.

"I was wondering when he would stop sleeping and wake up; good thing I was upstairs when he did." Malon scowled, "You okay, Link?"

He nodded, "Shaken, but okay. Where's Navi?"

"Right here!" chirped the fairy. She flew right into Link's face and snuggled him on the cheek, "I'm sorry I didn't wake you first! But I panicked the moment I saw him waking up, and I flew to tell Malon right away! I'm sorry, Link!"

He cupped her with his hands, and snuggled her to his chest, "It's okay, now; besides, Malon's frying pan seems to be doing its job _pretty_ good." he smiled, meaning the iron skillet's proficiency as her weapon. Malon chuckled, but then yelped as she got tackled to the ground by the bandit, who had apparently recovered and was more than happy to indulge himself with an enraged retaliation. The two smacked the floor, a writhing, rolling mass of two entirely different colored and entirely different clothed bodies.

Link exclaimed at the sudden tackle and searched for his short sword to draw out and show that bandit just what he thought about his attacking Malon. However, just a few seconds of watching them, trying to find an opening for himself to jump in and seperate them, made him lower his sword, dazed.

The bandit had a much bigger physique, not to mention probably much more power in his body, so he could easily pin her down with one quick move; but Malon's smaller, limber figure and her natural agility gave her quite the flexibility so she was easily able to outmaneuver her attacker. The result being that either one was unable to truly pin the other down and subdue them with victory.

Footsteps came down the staircase, and Link didn't dare take his eyes off of the wrestling Malon and bandit as Romani leaned into his face and watched with him.

"Grasshopper," she began, her nickname for him rolling off her tongue easy, "what's going on? I heard noises." she asked, rubbing her eyes free from sleep.

They rolled over, the bandit pinning her down with one arm wil the other bent backward, posed with fingers spread like claws and some sort of black static forming in the palm and the jewel atop his brow flashing. Then out of nowhere, her hand come up, having grasped her dropped frying pan and smacking him in the face with a harsh, resounding bang.

"G-go back upstairs, I'll tell you when they stop." Link absentmindedly droned, waving her up the stairs with his hand while he kept watching the wrestling match.

"Shouldn't we be...helping?" Navi inquired, though she too seemed unwilling to move, preferring to continue watching the scuffle.

Dazed by the smack to his head by the pan, the bandit lost his balance and the power in his grip, and Malon was able to throw her body over and force him to the floor, flipping him over onto his stomach and straddling his back while she dug her knees into the joints of his wrists.

Link barely spared his fairy a glance, "I think Malon's got it covered."

The bandit recovered from his stupor and brought his legs as close to the ground so he could buck the ranch girl off of him until a funny sound rang in the air and the very same, wicked sharp dagger he had been about to kill Link with was pressed right next to his throat.

The bandit lifted his eyes as best as he could, struggling only to get away from the dagger but Malon's hold held firm. Link inwardly cringed at the burning yellow irises, as he snarled, "I should kill you both, right now!"

"You wouldn't." Malon challenged, her blue eyes hard like the steel that was so close to his neck it could cut him if he moved toward it. "Twice I've knocked you down with this frying pan, and now I have you by the throat with your own dagger. And by the Godesses if I have to try for a final, fatal third time, I will!" she snarled right at him, brandishing her frying pan in her other pan as if it were a sword, even though the true threat was the dagger. But Link saw her try to take control of her tone; it was torrent of fear, and an unfamiliar protective sort of tone that Link had only heard come from Saria whenever she was standing up for him in an argument against Mido.

"But... we don't have to resort to any violence. In fact, I'd much rather us sit down at the table and just...talk." the word barely came out, a bitter spit-out that Link knew she was forcing out, trying to be calm and not hysterical, "Like civilized people."

The bandit laughed, though no humor was equipped, instead a harsh, cold bitterness, "Civilized? HA! That's the best joke I've ever heard, coming out of your kind's mouth. Don't you know what I am?"

Malon nodded, "Yes."

"Then why bother with the formalities when we both know what you think of me and my kind? In fact, why bother holding back, when you know...I could just knock it out of your hands any second and kill you? Or better yet, just get it over with and kill me!" he growled, and for the first time Link wondered what he and Malon were meaning. Kind? What was he meaning, kind? The bandit wasn't Hylian, or Terminian, or whatever the non-Kokiri and Skull Kid people called themselves?

Malon snarled, like a bitten animal, and Link swore if she were a fairy she'd be as burning red as Navi had been when the Bomber Kids had said something about the Great Fairy, "You don't know _anything_ about me or what I think, so don't you _dare_ to act like you do! And if you could kill me so easily..." she brought her tone back down, cooling it in an attempt to control her emotions, "then why didn't you do so before?"

The bandit faltered, for just a second, but that small second was just enough for Malon, it seemed. He could see their eyes fixate on each other, burning fire against hard ice, trapped in a battle that Link wasn't sure whether or not he was really in or not, or that he wanted to be. In a second's heartbeat Malon jumped off the bandit, taking frying pan and dagger with her and she moved toward the table. Link shifted with her, ready to strike; he would not be caught off guard this time! The Kokiri looked to Malon, awaiting any sign that he might need to move, and gasped. With all eyes on her, minus Navi who was watching the bandit carefully as he got half-way onto his feet, she set down her frying pan softly on the fabric of the table cloth and slipped the dagger back into the sash of her dress skirt, never letting her blue eyes leave their fixated gaze on the yellow of the bandit's.

Link barely saw the flicker of the bandit's surprise at her own disarmment in his eyes; had Link not looked, he would have never seen it.

Malon took a breath, an effort to keep calm the apparent storm in her insides, then took a plunge, "I have never harbored any malice towards the Gerudo, and I certainly don't want to start now."

"Gerudo?" piped Link, the word foreign on his tongue. He looked to the all-knowing Navi, but the even the knowledgable fairy didn't know either.

"But I do not, will not, and never will tolerate anybody who tries to hurt my friends, no matter who or even _what_ they are. I don't wish to fight you; in fact, I'd much rather let you simply rest here and then be on your merry way to wherever you may wish to go. But I will not standle idle or unarmed if you try to hurt my friends again."

"Is that a threat?" the bandit wondered, his tongue smooth and tone calm but Link sensed under it lay something...feral. Something that was so twistedly angry that he was afraid looks could kill.

"It's a promise, one that I kept last night by knocking you out before you hurt him," her eyes briefly flickered toward Link's figure, then back to the amber-eyed boy, " that I kept here, and that I intend to keep until I die."

The bandit was quiet, for so long that Link's hands were twitching against the handle of his Kokiri sword. So long, that he knew Malon was uncomfortable without the frying pan in her hand to protect herself with. But whatever sort of turn in conversation that she was aiming for, Link assumed she was trying to do so by proving a point. What point, he didn't know.

Finally, in his deep voice, some sort of odd, blue-hued tone that Link didn't even know the bandit could be associated with, the bandit spoke, "_You_... you defeated me..."

Malon bit her lip, but nonetheless she nodded.

"You...defeated _me_ twice, last night and this morning, and thrice you've stopped me..." he continued, and again Malon nodded, a wary gaze as she waited for him to argue or fight back at her, despite that she was trying to keep from going on the offensive. In fact, it seemed that Malon was trying to be...not submissive but..

~Then he exploded on the spot. His mouth widened to let out his frustrations that only he felt, while his hands clawed at his head. "NO! DIN-DAMNIT THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME!"

Link and Malon both jumped back, frightened by his outburst. "Wh-what are you talking about?" Malon shakily inquired, scared.

"What am I talking about?" he repeated with a snarl, "I'm talking about the geas! Din-damnit, how could I have let myself get pulled into it! And by a Hylian peasant woman with a stupid cooking pan, no less!"

"W-what's the 'geas'?"

He brought his gaze up to her, a fierce inferno blazing at her, then he suddenly flinched and looked away, "THE Geas. A long kept-secret curse of sorts. And thanks to you, and my own weakness," he snarled at the world, hate dripping from his tongue at its use, "I'm now under it!"

"You're...under a curse?"

"The geas, stupid woman."

Malon growled, offended, "I have a name! And stop being so cryptic and tell us what this Geas is!"

He twitched, suddenly flinching which Link found odd, but ignored it in favor of listening to the bandit. An angry growl vibrated in the back of the dark skinned boy's throat, and he glanced twice at Malon. He seemed ignorant of Link's presence, or just didn't care. HE stepped forward and Link jumped, bringing his sword up for a confrontation but he was ignored by the thief, whose ember eyes never wavered from Malon.

His tone dripped ice, "The Curse of the Ashes, the Geas of Fallen Pride as my people call it, is a curse that strips me of my will, and makes me endentured to the one who has felled me more than once and never taken my life for me to die with honorable defeat!"

"Wait wait wait," Malon threw up her hands in a defensive gesture, "hold up...what do you mean, endentured?"

The thief scraped together his teeth visibly, and it was for the first time that Link noticed an irregularity in his teeth that he had never before seen in anybody elses; the thief had two pairs of canines, sharp and white, the biggest pair on the bottom row but the sharpest on the top.

A vicious exhale of breath ripped out of his nostrils, and to the shock of Link and Malon, he lowered down to the floor, one knee flat on the wood and the other bent where his arm would rest. His hands clenched, both the one resting on his knee and the other he laid next to his flattened leg on the floor, and his enraged eyes lowered from Malon's gaze like that a dog.

"It means," he began with an undisguised growl, "that because of my own weakness, I have evoked a long-hidden curse of my people by being defeated not once but three times by you, a weak and merciful," he spat the word like it were a bitter medicine, "Hylian- and worse, captured. I have neither been killed or mortally wounded so as to take my shame with me, and therefor..."

Link and Malon awaited with baited breath.

"...I have lost my will as a Gerudo Prince, and am nothing more than a slave!" he added more to himself, "And to a Hylian of all damn things!"

Pregnant silence followed his words, and for a long moment Link could only glance back and forth between the bowed bandit-turned-slave, and Malon, who looked so still, so horrifyingly frozen that for a moment Link wondered if she was even still breathing. Even Navi was caught quiet, not daring to move or else her bell-chime like body would sing of its movement and warrant unwanted attention.

Malon swallowed, thick, and Link could tell by the expression of her red hair framed face that this was a turn out she had neither expected, or liked. Yes, she now had the bandit subdued, and yes, he would now be no longer an immediate threat (well, maybe) but the way he was subdued now, by the loss of his freedom as a person...Link knew by looking at her that Malon did not sit well with it at all.

Finally her lips parted, her voice trying hard to stay stone-solid instead of trembling, "B-by slave you mean to say that..."

"I have to unconditionally and unquestionably obey every direct command you give me." he growled.

She took a sharp breath, exhaled slow, then, "My name is Malon. I will accept no other name or title...and I won't accept any other name or title to call you by but your real name."

The bandit-turned slave blinked a few times, mildly, if at all decipherably surprised, Link couldn't truly make out his expressions, but the bandit obviously didn't expect her want for his name. Maybe he had believed they were to stick to some distant title-to-title basis?

But that didn't mean the theif was going to be any happier with their new situation.

"My name... is Ganondorf Dragmire, Malon."~

* * *

By the time it was 6 o clock in the afternoon, or evening as some would argue, Malon looked ready to throttle something. Or cry. Or both at the same time. Link wasn't sure. It hadn't even been a whole day, and the ranch girl obviously was not looking forward to her new power over the thief known as Ganondorf. Yeah, she now had a new source of help- and a ridiculously strong one at that- for her chores around the milk farm, but the idea that it was forced, unpaid, and unwilling was something she was visibly tearing herself up with.

She was on edge too. For one reason or other, the whole slave situation bothered her to the point that she was moody- as in, instantaneously moody. She almost bit his head off while she raved about her pre-existent beliefs of anti-slavery that she was being forced to defy now and how horrible and hypocritical she now was and how this now must make her a bad person. Link dared not approach her until she cooled off.

And that Ganondorf guy... he was the phrase "short temper" incarnate. Every little thing Link did seemed to instantly tick him off, and every time Link came close the slave-thief would find something to snap at him for. The older boy- which, Link had later learned, wasn't much older than Malon afterall! He was just really, really, _really_, _REALLY_ tall- was as miserable with the servitude thing as Malon was; not because of morality, obviously, but because the older boy didn't like that he now had to obey every command of somebody who was, previously, much lower than him on the social class chain or something to that effect, nevermind that Malon was the nicest person (besides Saria, of course!) that Link had ever met.

"And I still don't know who or what a Gerudo is..." he groaned to nobody in particular while he hefted a half-full sack of oats to Epona's food trough, Navi his only witness to his words.

"We could ask..." Navi stated as he smacked the empty top against the trough, and slowly let the oats come spilling out into the container.

"Ask who?" Link asked her, "Ganondorf would just call me stupid or something- I swear that guy has it in for me. And I don't want to get yelled at again by Malon." a short whinny snapped him away from Navi and Link jumped away from the trough so that Epona wouldn't snap at his fingers as the bay colored mare approached the container to eat.

"What about Malon?" came her non-blood twin's voice, and Link literally jumped this time.

"AAH-oh, it's you, Cremia." he sighed, "You scared me! You shouldn't creep up on people like that!"

She laughed, swinging an empty but dripping water pail over her shoulder, "I apologize. Now, what were you saying about Malon?"

"Well," Link began, not sure where he could start the story at. Cremia hadn't gotten every little detail once she had returned to the house to grab some feed for the cows at noon, but she at least knew names and that she wouldn't have to worry about Ganondorf. She still did worry, and that was understandable though.

"Wait, let me guess...Malon's against this whole servitude thing that's going on between her and that criminal, and Gand-Gan-Gad-what's his face," she scowled, giving up on trying to pronounce his name, "he doesn't like being a slave?"

Link nodded, "And I still don't know what a Gerudo is."

Cremia grimaced, "Ah, Gerudo. You don't hear much about their type on the mainland, but they're notorious on the coast of the ocean."

A bright light lit up on his face, "You mean you know? Cremia, tell me! Please! Are they bad? Good? Ugly? Weird? Do they all look like Ganondorf?"

"Okay, okay, chill kiddo." she eased with her hands up, "I'll spill it, okay? Here in Termina, Gerudo's are an all-female race of pirates that live along the coastline of the ocean to the far west. They're notorious for their thievery and pillaging skills, and supposedly they're regarded as one of the most ruthless natured people of Termina."

"Oh...that's it?" he wondered. Yeah, it sounded bad, but it didn't quite sound as bad as he imagined it might be.

"Yeah. I do admit, up until Mister Complicated-Name showed up, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a male Gerudo." she shrugged her shoulders, "Ah, well, small world. It was bound to happen, I guess. Anyway, Malon said her old homeland had much the same stuff as our land does, so it wouldn't surprise me if her homeland has something similar. You should ask her." Cremia said.

"WAIIIT a minute!" Navi rang with alarm, "You mean Malon told you she isn't from Termina?"

Cremia frowned at the surprised tone in the fairy's voice, curious as to the fairy's surprise at the revealing, but she nodded nonetheless, "Yeah, when we first met. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, well uhm..." Navi suddenly shied away, wings flattening backward like a dog or cat might do their ears, "W-well, you see..."

Cremia laughed, "It's okay! You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just because you're staying with us, doesn't mean you aren't allowed privacy. "

"Thanks, Cremia." Link smiled to her, grateful.

"No problem...now, how about you and Navi come help me set up supper before it gets really late?" she inquired of them, glancing at the small, nailed up Terminan clock on the wall of Epona's stable.

The forest duo complied, happy to be of help. Inside the house Link and Navi immediately set to laying down a fresh linen table cloth. Cremia showed them the cabinet for the dishes and utensils, and they placed them orderly on the wooden surface as well. Then Cremia started the fire, carefully lighting a match and letting the flame catch onto the small twigs and parchment at the bottom of the wood pile before eventually the larger log pieces caught.

A small array of vegetables was placed on the counter and after he showed her where he had initially hid the knives from Ganondorf, Cremia and Link started cutting the vegetables up.

"Curl your fingertips under while you hold it," she instructed him, moving his fingers accordingly with a gentle nudge.

"This?" he showed her, and she nodded.

"Just like that. That way, your fingers don't get cut off by the knife if you miss." smiled the ranch manager, as she started cutting the large bundle of carrots she held down with one hand. Link cut slowly, trying to keep from making a mess, and he glanced a few times at Cremia and was impressed by her quick, professional presicion with the small but sharp knife. In a matter of seconds she was done with the two carrots and moved on to another pair, while Link was just finishing up one. She must have been doing it for years to be so fast and precise!

The sound of a depressive sigh caught Cremia's ears, and she briefly glanced to him and halted her veggie slicing, "What's with the sigh?"

He seemed to droop into himself, like gravity had just increased by a few degrees on his shoulders. "I'm just thinking about what the Great Fairy had told us. When we went with Malon to town?"

"I remember. What did she say? 'Cause if she said anything bad about you, tell me so I can go give that fairy a piece of my mind!" Cremia joked, although it did little to lift the frown off of his lips.

"She told me and Navi we couldn't go back home, not the way we came. She also said she wouldn't be able to help at all, that we'd be on our own and have to find a new way home."

An expressive frown lowered her mood, but Cremia mused over his words, "Really? Pretty harsh for a Fairy to say, but I guess if you're going to tell the truth, you shouldn't sugarcoat it. Is that all she told you?"

Navi made a funny noise as Link finished his first carrot, and Cremia handed him another from the selection, "Well, not really. She said some other things, but I'm still having a difficult time deiphering them."

Cremia nodded, "Word around Clock Town is the Great Fairy loves being cryptic about her answers. It wouldn't surprise me if she's wanting you to figure it out by yourself." she put aside the carrots, having cut enough to her satisfaction and moving on to skinning and dicing potatoes. "What did she say?"

"I don't remember her exact words, but the Great Fairy said stuff about doors opening and closing, that we need to have faith, and getting rewarded with some gift of magic though honestly," Link huffed, "I don't feel any different than when I first went in."

"And she said something...something about 'the Four' or whatever. The "Four" that would help us if we called them." Navi sighed, watching Link's fingers carefully so that he didn't slip and hurt himself.

"The Four...what?" Cremia asked.

"That's it. That's all she said was 'the four'." Link paused to use his middle and index finger to emphasis quotations. "Whatever that means."

"Maybe the other four Great Fairies?" she offered, but her suggestion was shot down by a shake of Navi's head.

"No, it can't be; she said so herself that she couldn't help us except give us a few gifts, and the golden rule of the Great Fairies is they are all equal in power." Navi explained,"If one of them can't do it, none of them can."

"What a situation... have you tried looking it up in a book?"

Link pushed aside his finished carrots and assisted in the skinning of potatoes, and stopped to give Cremia an incredulous look, "A book? I didn't even think about that option..."

"We don't have many, being a ranch and not a library after all," Cremia began, clearing off the counter by pushing the cut vegetables into a small black cauldron hanging over the fire, bubbling with hot water, "but we have a few books on the shelf in mine and Romani's room. You're welcome to look through them after supper, though I don't know how much good they'll do, as most of them are storybooks Romani kept."

"Anything would be helpful," Navi assured her.

Cremia smiled, happy she could be of some sort of assistance, "Actually, since we're talking about Great Fairies, if you can find a guide there so you don't run into too much danger, the ranch isn't that far from Woodfall Swamp. A Great Fairy might be there, and maybe she can give you a little more helpful advice than what Clock Town's gave you."

Link nodded, face bright and an excited grin painted, "A brilliant idea! Okay Navi, we'll go through the books first, and then we can go prepare for a quick journey into the swamp!"

The glowing blue fairy made a face, "Eugh, a swamp doesn't sound very fun to travel through."

Link laughed, "Yeah, well, neither was the Great Deku Tree's body, but that turned out to be quite exciting!"

"Touche." admitted the fairy, though she still seemed uneased with the idea of going through a mucky, muddy swamp.

"BUT!" announced Cremia as she brought out a large, salted slab of bright red meat and with a butcher knife she made the first, loud cut, "First, you must eat! And that isn't happening until this is done!" she laughed, an air of dramatics tinting her voice as she made a mockery of evil laughter.

Link played along, more than happy to indulge in a quick fit of play with the older Romani sister, "OH NO, did you hear that Navi? We have to cook food and EAT IT before we can continue our grand adventures! NOOOO!" In addition, Cremia cackled with mock-laughter.

Navi chuckled, "You're hopeless."

"Nope! I'm seriousless!" Link grinned, earning a half-hearted exaspherated sigh from Navi.

Further cooking and instruction followed as together the trio made the night's meal, which Link began to recognize as some stew or soup of a sort. Cremia had finished spreading a bit of spice into the cauldron, boiling with hot water, vegetables and meat while Link cut the bread when the door creaked open and in walked Malon. Malon leaned back and straightened her apparently aching back, having just finished roping the grazing dairy cows from the field and into the barn with Epona, tired.

She sniffed the air, smiling at the scent of soup, "Smells good, Cremia. Need any help?"

Cremia shook her head, "Nope! Link's got me covered today!"

"Hi Malon!" Link greeted cheerily. He hoped she was in a better mood after riding her favored horse; she usually was, and today didn't seem to be the exception.

"Little rascal, sneaking in here and taking my job as secondary cook!" she teased, and the Kokiri scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, since his hat covered his head.

Cremia chuckled, "Hey, it'll be done in a few more minutes. You two, round up Romani and Gadorfan and all of you wash up."

Link snickered while Navi jingled with an unsure sound, "I think you mean Ganondorf, Cremia."

"Whatever!"

Link snickered louder, "I'll go get him."

Malon froze midstep, "Are you sure?"

Link nodded, confidence radiating from him, "Absolutely! This time I'll be able to take him if he tries anything!" and without waiting for another word from Malon he was out the door and on a mad hunt for the dark older boy.

Blocking the setting sun's rays from his eyes, he glared across the entire ranch boundaries, scanning for a dark blot amongst the greenery. Unsatisfied in his lack of catching sight of the dark boy, Link settled for calling for him.

"GANONDORF! GAAANONDORRRF!" Link called, waiting only a second in between calls for an answer before repeating again. "GAAA-"

"Oh for the Goddess's sake, if I answer will you just shut up!" snapped the deep voice of the former bandit from high above.

Link whirled around on his feet, expecting him to be behind him but he couldn't still see him at all. "What? Where-" Navi gestured up with her body and Link followed her direction up, past the barn doors, up the frame, until finally, on the red roof he sighted a hunched over figure at the top, sitting with knees bent and arms rested on them.

"Ah, now I see you!" laughed the Kokiri boy.

"Yes, yes, that's great, now what the hell do you want?" Ganondorf growled like a beast.

"I don't think he likes being disturbed." Navi whispered.

"Or even approached." Link whispered back, then he brought his voice back to audible volume, "Supper's almost done! Cremia, the ranch's owner- she says come and wash up so we can eat!"

The older boy made a growl from his throat, "No thanks. Now leave."

Link stepped back, shocked at the refusal of food- who in their right mind, who hadn't eaten once that entire day, would dare refuse food? ESPECIALLY when Cremia was cooking?

"But-aren't you hungry? It's really good! Cremia and I made it, and she and Malon are the best cooks EVER!" he played up, trying to get the Gerudo to realize his mistake and jump down the roof and get some.

"_Not_. _Interested_. Now leave me alone!" came the biting snarl. Link visibly cringed at the biting cold in the tone.

"Are you sure? it's reeally gooooo-"

"You have three seconds to leave or else I'll strangle the life out of you!" he threatened.

Link sighed, "Navi, I don't think he's budging."

The fairy rolled her eyes at him, "We at least tried. Let's go inside then; his loss."

Link shrugged, not sure he liked letting another person starve, even if they were choosing to...or maybe Gerudos didn't eat? WOW! That'd be sure convenient! But awful sad, he thought, because then they would never get to taste the pure, awesome, healing power of either ranchhand girl's cooking!

"Well?" came Cremia's expectant call as he re-entered the house.

"He's not coming." Navi assured her. Cremia opened her mouth to speak, then thought better of it and shrugged while she stirred the soup. He spent the next five minutes washing his hands of the day's work with Malon, who was making sure little Romani actually washed and didn't just run her hands under the water and say she did. Once done, they departed to the kitchen where the dining table sat in the middle of the small entrance room.

By then, Cremia had already set bowls full of hearty soup and the bread Link had sliced, save for the ones that was meant for Ganondorf had he joined them. Link, as a happy consumer of anything cooked by Malon or her non-blood twin, almost choked on a potato piece he was eating it so fast. Romani giggled while Cremia scolded her for making a mess as she sloshed the soup with ther spoon.

"Is Charcoal really staying out there?" Romani asked Link, using one of her nicknames she had come up with to use instead of Ganondorf's real name. So far she had tried Mr. Night, Candlewick, Dragonfly, Wasp, Coyote, and Sir Fiery, and only Sir Fiery and Charcoal seemed to fit on her tongue for the moment.

Link shrugged, "I don't know- he didn't want to come in, obviously."

Cremia humphed, "Let him. If he wants to face the night, despite how cold it gets around this season, that's his fault." Malon stayed silent, but Link didn't miss the funny look she shot Cremia, who didn't see, or ignored it. Funny, he thought, how absolutely similar they looked, yet he had begun to notice how different Malon and Cremia were. They were so different, and so similar it was scary. Just like twins. Probably why he and anybody else who asked might have thought they really were twins.

"Hey Romani," Link began, remembering the subject he had spoken to Cremia earlier about, "would you mind if Navi and I could take a peek at a few of your story books tonight?"

"Of course not! Just be sure to remind Romani, so Romani can read you my favorite!" she grinned.

Malon gave him an inquisitive gaze of her eyes, "Why the sudden story book need, Link?"

He explained the conversation he and Cremia had when they were cooking the meal together, about the Great Fairy, the mysterious "four" she had mentioned, and his next destination in mind.

"Sounds like a good idea. Only...while we were in Clock Town, I heard some rumors about Woodfall." Malon told, "Usually, rumors are just a bunch of lies, but they were saying it's gotten dangerous all of a sudden. Something about poisonous swamp water, and an uncontrollable monster infestation." she paused to take a sip of non-alcoholic but just as tasty milk from her glass, then after swallowing she continued, "Word is that the tour boat there's closed, and the Deku Palace has closed its doors and won't let anyone in."

"Aww, I wanted to go on the tour boat next weekend!" whined Romani.

"There are Dekus at the swamp?" Navi questioned.

Malon nodded, and Cremia explained first, "Woodfall is famous for four main things, besides being a swamp; the tour boat, the Deku's, the Witch Potion Shop, and the Octorok shooting contests. The Deku's that inhabit it have a sort of organized, cultural society. They let visitors visit the palace, see their Deku Royalty, the Gardens, and in return the Deku's get to trade in the Clock Town market, as well as not get uprooted and kicked out of their homes. Depending on which area of the swamp, you might find yourself either in conversation with a friendly one, or getting shot at by a rogue."

"And word is that they won't let anyone in, or help out with the monsters manifesting in the waters. Some of the merchants say a demon's taking over the swamp and the Deku's are trying to keep it out of their home; others say it's the first step in a Deku revolt." Malon continued. "Either way, it's got some people spooked, and I don't mean to be the rain on your parade, but I don't think you'll find a cheap guide to the swamp in this case."

Link mulled it over in his head, knowing he didn't have many rupees anyway and he refused to take any from the sisters and Malon. And if the Swamp was as dangerous as the rumors were saying, he'd need to be extra careful. But since rumors tend to be lies, or fibs, Link thought to himself he might be able to handle it.

"Then we'll just find our way to the Fairy ourselves. I don't have much money, and since no guide's going to take us there with the little I have, then we'll just have to do it ourselves."

Malon disagreed, vigorously, "Absolutely not! I'll go with you."

Cremia gasped, "Excuse me? And leave that...that _criminal_ with Romani? No way! Plus I just got a letter from Clock Town; they're giving us a few more cows, and I can't leave Romani here by herself during the day, and that's the only time they'll let me get them! Either you stay here to keep an eye on him, or he goes with Link."

"Sis, what's a criminal?" asked Romani.

"It's a very bad, very dangerous person who does bad things."

"Nu-uh!" she snapped, disbelieving, "Sir Fiery's not a criminal! Is he?"

Feeling left out, Link raised his hand as if it would grant him the power to speak, and speak he did, "Uhm, I'm pretty sure I can handle it by myself!" Unfortunately for him, his words fell on deaf ears as the two girls began another argument. A brilliant idea hit him, though it would involve journeying alone with Ganondorf, and he wasn't sure if he would survive it.

"Hey, uhm guys? Hey, hello?" he tried.

"HEY! LISTEN!" Navi shouted, loud like a church bell. Malon and Cremia stopped, and quieted.

"Thanks Navi," the fairy nodded for him to speak, "I have an idea. A crazy idea, but an idea. Malon, you can take me to the swamp on Epona, right?" the red horse's owner nodded, "And Cremia needs you back at the ranch. It shouldn't take that long to get there from here, so why not just take me and Ganondorf to the entrance of the swamp, and then high tail back to Clock Town and pick up the cows?"

"But what about Ganondorf?" Malon inquired.

"Well," he started, scratching his neck again, uncertain as to how to word it, "since he's apparently under your...uhm...command, can't you just command him not to kill me, but help me find the Great Fairy? And since you'll be riding with us to the Swamp entrance, you can make sure he doesn't try anything with me on the way, and I in return can make sure he doesn't try anything on you!" he ended, with a confident, encouraging smile- or at least, what he hoped was encouraging and such.

Malon digested his words as he spoke, and as he finished a light sort of lit up in her mind, her brain putting the pieces together. "You really, _really_ think he'll listen?"

Navi jingled, "Normally, I'd say no, but...instead of trying to kill all of us, he admitted defeat and his freedom over to you. Whether he's planning something or not, I don't know, but either way now would be a good time as any to try and see if he'll keep his word or not."

Malon's frown became contemplative, staring into the half-empty bowl of soup before her. Cremia sat up and rinsed out her dish, speaking aloud, "It's not a bad idea. It very well could work. Link's pretty good at fighting, and with the boy who beat him on his side, he shouldn't have a problem going through the Swamp, no matter how monster-infested it is. Plus, you get to make sure he gets there safely, AND we still get to pick up those cows. Give or take a few risks, it looks like a good win-win situation to me."

After a few moments, Malon nodded, "Alright. You win."

"YES!" Link softly whooped, "and since I'm done," he said with a point of his finger at his empty dishes, "if you three don't mind, Navi and I'll be off to book-searching, right after I wash my bowl and glass!" he grinned, taking his dishes away.

Malon inhaled, then exhaled, a calming effect on her and she stood up and did the same with her own dirty dishes, but then she picked up the full soup bowl and bread and milk glass that had been originally meant for Ganondorf and put it all atop one plate."And in the meantime, I'll see if I can't convince Mister Stubbornpants to eat."

"Good luck." Link wished her, and she smiled at him in thanks.

"You'll need it." Cremia commented, and she ushered Romani into finishing her own meal and washing her bowl and glass free of food and drink remains while Malon walked out of the house, tray with soup bowl, milk glass, and bread in hand.

* * *

So, uhm random chapter development- but NOW we know TEH MYSTERIOUS BANDIT's name. And it's none other than your friendly neighborhood criminal of Hyrule Ganondorf...or IS HE? *dramatic music* and sooner or later a plot to develop next chapter. And lots of silliness. and lots of Anti-Link Ganondorf. At Ganondorf's expense. And Malon being all SLAVE DRIVUH on him! MWUAHAHAHAA-okay, not really. prepare some major plot tweaking from Majora's Mask- and some minor OOCness. In fact, expect minor OOCness every chapter. Either because I fail at characters, or because of what's been changed about them. *cough*

(*) also, that "Ydavesha kzedaej din asezhet" (pronounced Yid-ah-veh-shah/zed-ai-j/din/ah-seh-zsh-eht)phrase is Ganondorf speaking his native language, which ISN'T Hylian. Don't bother trying to find a reference language to base it off of, because all it is is the result of me literally smacking my head on the keyboard, and deleting a few letters here or there to make it look cool or legit. I'll probably later come up with something better so you guys can read/understand it later, but for now, just watch for the (*) thingy. Oh, and he's saying something along the lines of "Damn every one of you to the pits of Din's Wrath" or something to that effect. or en exclamation to Din of the pain of getting smacked in the face for the second time (and probably not the last) with an iron pan. I imagine it hurts, no matter who's hitting you with it.

AUNOTE reminder: EDITTING has been done. It's right between where I've placed ~'s

Uhm...hm...that's all I can think to say right now, so uhm... Comments? Questions? Reviews? Know what, just reviews'd be fine.

-KO13


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Getting to the Swamp

* * *

"_...are you, by chance, a boat cruise customer? _" - Kotake, Majora's Mask

* * *

Early morning came all too soon for a sleepy, Navi-snuggling Link. He had stayed up as late as his body would let him while he and Navi foraged through each book on the tiny double shelved stand that was beside Romani's bed and her toybox. They had poured an entire four hours into the pages, eyes scourging each word for any sort of sign, hint, tip, or anything that would happen to relate the mysterious Four. So far, no luck had occurred in any book, although, to Navi's credit, they were mostly story books for little children. One book in particular, a volume about the different tales of Termina's history, had gotten quite close though, and Navi had wished they had more of the volumes of it's series to search through.

The volume had entailed a long, bloody war between the ancient kingdoms of Ikkanya, Cronodia(the ancient name of Clock Town), the Goron and Zora, and two strange, demonic entities. It had mentioned how the ungodly powers of the demons had kept the war drawn out until the kingdoms, in desperation, called on their respective deity of sorts. It briefly talked about the different interdependable deities, how if they were separate they have no power, but together they protect Termina, even if they must protect it from itself. Interestingly, there were four deities mentioned, though they had no names, only their locations.

Swamp. Mountain. Ocean. Canyon.

And from there, there was never another mention of four beings, places, or items.

They had stayed up for four hours, and that was all they had found.

And despite the delicious breakfast (in which, again, Malon volunteered to go force feed the melancholy or stubborn, whichever it was, Ganondorf) Link was still tired.

"Malon, I'm gonna fall asleep, I'm not kidding!" he drowsily yawned while Malon hitched the saddle to Epona. "I'm so sleepy, I could just fall asleep on my feet and sleepwalk the journey there!"

"Then get on Epona."

"No!" he cried, "Epona'll buck me off!"

"Then don't go to sleep." she cheekily replied. "If your so worried about falling asleep, why don't you get some coffee from Cremia? If the caffeine doesn't snap you to attention, then the sugar you doubtlessly will put in it should."

"Coffee?" voiced Link, the word odd on his tongue, "Isn't that supposed to be...I don't know, an _adult_ drink?"

A baritone voice piped up from nowhere, making Link jump, "Not so much adult drink so much as acquired taste by adults."

"Ah, good to see you out and about to join us today, Ganondorf." Malon commented to the new addition to the conversation, who Link had to turn a complete 180 degree turn and then crane his neck up to see the towering figure of Ganondorf.

The Gerudo boy, despite the lack of weaponry that Malon had undoubtedly imposed as a rule on him, still looked fiercely intimidating, thanks in part to his natural body build and his clothes. He was just so tall! Link felt like a miniscule insect standing beside a towering stallion, and the bulging ripples of muscle present in what Link swore was every inch of his body looked tense, ready to snap to action at any given moment. His charcoal flesh, fire red hair, and hot-coal eyes were just such a shock to Link's eyes.

It didn't help the astronomical differences between them that their clothes were strikingly different too. Link's simplistic green kokiri tunic, matching shorts, and worn-in brown boots fit his former life as a simple carefree Kokiri out in the woods. Ganondorf on the other hand, wore a sort of light, sleeveless (well, more like ripped off) robe-thing that reached little less than six or seven inches from his knees, tied around his waist with a jewel en-crested belt with small leather loops where Link assumed used to hold his weapons (which had been confiscated two nights ago.) Loose trousers were underneath that tucked into black armored open-toe boots that looked more like sandals fitted with a red and blue rectangular designed cloth, then armor.

Thick but light plates of leather armor stuck out from either shoulder, dark with gold crests and horns protruding from the leather, but not at all as effectively strong looking as the shining ruby crested silver gauntlets he was, at that very moment, fitting on his forearms and black fingerless gloved fingers.

"Not like there's a choice in the matter." he bit back a yawn, but Link still saw the tell-tale heavy inhale of breath that followed all yawns. Ganondorf must not be a morning person either, just like Link! "And just because I have to babysit this pipsqueak does not mean in any way, form, or fashion will I be civil."

"Hey! Don't call me a pipsqueak!" Link objected. "And wait, what do you mean 'babysit'!"

"I'd rather you be. I guarantee you it'd go a lot faster if you two behave with each other." Malon commented, securing one of the low-tied belts going across Epona's belly. "Are we ready to go?"

"Uhm, can I get that coffee first?" Link questioned, his eyes drooping again.

"Hurry up." she urged him, and he turned to run inside and grab himself a cup before Cremia drank it all.

A few minutes later he came out with a steaming mug of coffee, golden with cream and laden with sugar, Malon guessed. They fixed the seating arrangements for the trip to the swamp, so that Link would get to ride Epona but with Malon to keep the horse from going berserk. Ganondorf would walk on the side, and always at the front so that not only would he be able to sense any undetectable danger up ahead, but also so that Malon could keep an eye on him.

"I can take you to the main road to the swamp, but I'm afraid that's as far as my knowledge of the terrain goes; from there on out you're on your own." Malon commented as they saddled up and headed off the ranch.

"How helpful." scoffed a harsh grunt from Ganondorf at the lead, the remark earning an angry, defensive huff from Malon.

"Oh don't you start, Mr. I Couldn't Find the Horse Stable.!" Malon sneered, her spontaneous nickname making Link snigger.

"You couldn't find the horse stable?" snickered Link.

"I hope you fall off that horse. Then perhaps I could get to see what would crush your head first; horse hooves, or me."

"Yeah, well... I hope you trip! 'cause then you'd be run over by Epona! You'd be a trampled...thing! Like, more trampled than a... a weed!" Link lamely shot back.

"Boys..." Malon huffed, "I can already tell, you two are going to be the best of friends." Link did not catch the sarcasm.

"But we're fighting? How is that best friends-y?" he asked, his question earning a loud, incredulous snort from Ganondorf.

"Maybe it's just a stage, like you and me. We fight, sometimes, but we're best friends. And, we started out fighting a lot." pointed out Navi, just before Malon could explain she was using sarcasm.

An impish light flashed through Malon's eyes, unseen by anyone due to her place on the back of the saddle, with Link in front of her and Ganondorf leading.

"So it stands to reason, if that's the case Navi," Malon started to make sure everyone was listening, "that the more two people fight at the beginning of their friendship, the better of friends' they'll be?"

"I guess."

"In that case, congratulations, Link and Ganondorf. By the end of this swamp adventure, you two'll be the bestest of friends, more best-friends-y than any other pair of best friends in the entire land of Termina-nay, the entire world!" Malon announced, with a mockery of dramatic flair, though it was ruined as she finished with a muffled series of snickers.

A clearly disgusted groan emitted from Ganondorf, while Link cheered.

"Ya hear that, Ganny?" Link yelled, standing up from his seat on the saddle and leaning up to Epona's head where the Gerudo boy was, "Once we're done with this bickering stage, we'll be best buddies! You won't have to be mean to me anymore!"

"Yippee." came his reply, though it sounded the slightest like he was speaking through his teeth.

"So what's it like at a swamp?" Link asked curious. He had never been to a swamp before, and the idea that he was heading right for one intriguied him.

"What's there to know?" Ganondorf growled, "It's big, it's muddy, it's messy, and drowned in mucky water. You're more likely to get swallowed up in a sink hole than you are attacked by monsters."

"That's...actually pretty accurate." Malon frowned, not too enthusiastic about his curt, brisk explanation, but in essence his curt words cut right to the chase and summed it right up. "It's basically muddy, grassy places with a lot of water, but not enough to make a pond and no place to let it run as a river. There are, as Ganondorf said, sink holes; where the mud has formed over a pocket of water and if you step on it, you fall in and you sink. The more you move, the faster you sink, so it's wise not to panic, stay calm, and wait for somebody to toss you rope to pull you out, or look for a way out yourself."

"Sounds icky." Navi said with an undisguised disgust.

"It's not all that bad." she assured, "I've heard from a few people that there are certain ways to get around the swamp without having to go through the water or going by boat. Besides, I'm sure you three will manage."

"More like one-well, two." Ganondorf scoffed, "Pipsqueak'll probably sink into the mud quicker than you can say 'Oops'. Fairy should be fine though...until some swamp bird comes and snatches her up."

Link gulped and tried to grab Navi so he could hug her for comfort. The fairy would not allow such gentle touch, not when there was fighting to be had!

"Excuse me! I'll have you know we are quite capable of handling ourselves! Not even a few days ago we destroyed monsters from within the dungeon-like insides of our Great Deku Tree!"

"Oo, a tree." he mocked, "How incredible."

"Not a tree, the Great Deku Tree! There were Mad Dekus and-"

"Dekus! Now that's absolutely horrifying!" Ganondorf mock-gasped. Malon rolled her eyes at his sarcasm, which both Kokiri and Fairy had caught this time.

"-and giant man-eating Skulltulas! Bigger than Link-even bigger than you!" Navi yelled, furious that the Gerudo wasn't taking them seriously.

"Uh-huh. Right." Navi continued to try to convince the older, taller boy of their capability of handling and taking care of themselves, but he was obviously not listening. Eventually, they stopped, Navi ending with a huff of "You'll see."

The trip descended for a small time into a fit of quiet, especially as they passed a few fallen, rotten logs and trees. Two tall wood pillars with a sign attached to either end signaled their entrance into the swamp territory, and as they descended inside all four travelers could immediately taste the change in the air, the difference between wide open and dry Termina Field air and the heavy, humid, and thick, even foggy air of the swamp.

Malon called to a stop as they approached a colossal white trunk tree, that had a few crows in the branches clearly visible through the thin leaves. They had come to the place Malon had been to, but where she had been no further. Malon dismounted Epona and helped Link off while Ganondorf lazily scouted the area. It was obviously time for them to split up.

"You're sure you have everything?" Malon asked as Link stretched his aching legs; it didn't seem like it, but the trip had been long and he had never ridden a horse before.

"Sword and shield..." he tapped the wooden Deku shield on his back that was attached to the strap across his chest and the accompanying Kokiri sword, "slingshot, deku seeds... yep, I've got everything!" he finished with a wide grin. "I'll be okay, Malon! Me and Navi went through Queen Gohma! This should be a breeze! I mean, we're just looking for a Great Fairy anyway, it's not like we're going to be looking for long-lost treasure or something!"

Malon smiled, "I know. I'm sorry that I mother you so much; it must be annoying."

Link laughed, "Nah, I understand. My friend Saria, from back home- she would do the same thing. Besides, we're friends, and it's okay for friends to worry about each other! It means you care!"

Her smile widened, and they hugged. "Good luck, Fairy Boy." she told him, ruffling his hat on his head, earning a surprised and halfheartedly moan from him about messing up his hat or hair. The red haired girl giggled and she remounted Epona, easily climbing into the saddle in two seconds where as Link remembered taking forever.

"Ganondorf!" Malon then called from atop Epona. The Gerudo boy, leaned onto the white tree, lifted his head up at his name, awaiting further speech calmly. "I'm entrusting him into your hands..."

He nodded curtly, expecting a similar statement but that was more aggressive and with an underlying threat. Pleasantly, hers had neither. They gazed at each other for a while, sharp yellow and smooth blue boring into each other, one for any sign of aggression or hate, or even distrust in the hopes of satisfying some sort of belief, while the other simply searched for solid earnesty, that the other person would be trustworthy.

Eventually, Malon broke the eye contact, smiling, satisfied with something that Link didn't know what. She tugged Epona's reins and turned the horse around and said her final goodbyes. Then in a whirl of red both rider and horse galloped away onto the dirt road, heading off to Clock Town once more.

Several minutes passed, Ganondorf still leaned onto the large tree, and Link still standing in the same spot he had when Malon left. Slowly he turned on his booted heels, and for a moment, though certainly not as combative as his and Malon's had been, his and Ganondorf's eyes met and a stare-down occurred. Link broke it so that he could sheepishly scratch the back of his neck.

"So, uhm...what now?" he asked, shy and just the slightest bit afraid under the amber colored scrutiny of the Gerudo boy.

In a snap Ganondorf was standing up on his own, back straight and tree untouched. Without giving the Kokiri boy a glance he simply turned a certain direction and started walking.

"H-hey wait! Where you going?"

"Somewhere." he brisked. Link followed after him, yelling for his new companion to wait up at the least. Ganondorf didn't falter his pace, so Link was forced to sprint after the fleeting Gerudo until finally he was side-by-side with the tall cinder-skinned boy.

"You know the way to the swamp?" Link asked, hopeful.

"No."

"But-why are you walking this way, then?"

"Because, the swamp is right up ahead of us. So, logically, if we stay in one direction, it's only a matter of time before we hit the swamp." Ganondorf explained curtly.

"But what if you're going the wrong way? Shouldn't we ask for directions?" Link inquired, eyes darting around.

Ganondorf paused mid-step to glare at him, "No. One, we don't need directions! I know exactly where we are going. And second-do you even _see_ anybody to ask?" he snapped.

Link paused to take a quick look around, the answer on the tip of his tongue when he saw something. A big, red balloon was floating in the air, with a green wiggling thing attached to it. "What's that?" he pointed at it, and Ganondorf brought his hot glare away from Link to the balloon.

"HEY!" yelled Navi, and the green thing wiggled some more at her voice. The balloon was turned slightly and the green thing became somewhat clearer; it appeared to be a small kid in a full body green suit.

Upon sighting the grounded trio, or specifically one of them, the small person started struggling madly, and in their fit the red balloon popped and they fell from the sky. Luckily, the leafy branches of a tree, if only by a little, softened his landing and to Link's awe, he landed wonderfully on his feet, like a cat...

...a really unbalanced, klutzy cat...

The kid brushed his clothing of the leaves and dirt of the trees and in a rush bounced from foot to foot to where Link and Ganondorf were. Only when he was close did Link realize, however, that the tiny person was not a child- in fact, he was far from it. What afar was a child was now appearing to be a very tiny, short stature of a man with twig-thin arms and legs, a round belly, squished eyes and mouth with two short, thick black lines of a mustache on the top of his lip. From head to toe he was covered in a bright green suit that had holes only where his hands and face were and a bright red thong over it. In his short, stubby hands was a painting brush, and a small writing board with parchment was in the other.

"...the hell are you supposed to be, a midget protesting clothes?" Ganondorf snapped, but the man paid no attention, preferring to stare wide-eyed (if you could see his eyes through his constant squint of course) at Link.

"What is this, a fairy?" he gasped, "And green clothes? Why, young sir," the man shoved his enormous nose close to Link, who understandably flinched away, "could you really be...could you really be a FOREST FAIRY?"

"uhm..."

Taking the unsure mumble as a yes, the man jumped for joy, clicking his heels together- the entire shabang. His hands clapped multiple times, he spun around thrice, all the while the trio stared at him. "My name is Tingle, and I believe I am the same as you, sir! A forest fairy!"

Link and Ganondorf stared for a long, quiet...awkward moment.

"But I'm not a forest fairy, I'm-"

"Lucky, lucky, you are so luuuckyyyyy! So lucky, to have a fairy!" Tingle sang, totally ignoring whatever Link had to say. His stubby hands grabbed for Link, slapping the ink from the paintbrush onto his tunic. "I know! I know! we should be friends! Best friends! Fairy friends!"

"Link, this guys a weirdo...can we leave now?" Navi whispered.

"Uhh..."

"How about this, Forest Fairy? In exchange of our friendship," the deluded man rambled, caught in his joy, "I will sell you...a map!"

"A map?" Instantly, Link's mood was improved.

"A map?" growled Ganondorf, who was not impressed.

"A map, that Tingle will sell to you cheap as a gift of our new-found friendship!" he giggled, "So how about it, would you like to buy one of Tingle's maps?"

Link and Ganondorf exchanged glances, and a silent conversation of some sorts passed through, until Link grinned, "I think we should get one."

Ganondorf growled, "Does it look like we have money to buy some crackpot's map that will probably get us more lost?"

"But it could still come in handy... besides, you don't have to pay for it." Link began, " I still have a few rupees I found from Navi and I's excursion in the Great Deku tree's insides-who knew Mad Dekus carried change for the heck of it? And since it's going to be cheaper than regular price...why not?"

Ganondorf's amber irises rolled, "Not my money your wasting."

Link smiled, and dug out his rupee pouch and with a quick inquiring of the amount he handed Tingle over the different colored jewels.

"One map of the Swamp, please."

Once Tingle handed over the newly bought map, he bounced in a circle, then twirled on his toes three times, again and again, "Tingle, Tingle..." and his only empty hand thrust forward, releasing confetti out of nowhere, "Kooloo-LIMPAHHH!"

Rainbow pieces of confetti flew from his hand, coating mostly Ganondorf and Link, Navi being untouched by the small pieces. The Gerudo picked off the confetti with a growl of disgust, while Link swept it off his shoulders and hat lightly, not really bothered.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Tingle's magic words!" the man giggled, "Don't steal them, okay?"

Link nodded, "Okay... Uhm, so thanks for the map, Tingle, but we have to go..."

"But you just got here! Tingle has so many questions to ask you- like where did you get your fairy, when did she come to you, what-"

"Yes, and I would love to answer...but see my friend and I or on a schedule here... and..."

Tingle sighed, "Tingle understands. Alas, Tingle himself is waiting for a fairy of my own-and I've been waiting for a long time!"

"How lo-" suddenly Link was grabbed by the back of the collar of his tunic and Ganondorf intervened.

"Okay, we've wasted enough of my time as is-we need to go." he roughly huffed, easily holding up the struggling Kokiri boy with a one-handed grip, (*)"Tjeaerna or goodbye, farewell, sayonara, you take your pick." and before either could say another word Ganondorf was waltzing past the green suited man, roughly brushing his shoulder without a care while Link struggled to get out of the iron knuckled grip.

"Let me go!" Link spat.

"Okay." Ganondorf shrugged, and he released his grip on the Kokiri, who instantly fell hard on his butt onto solid ground. He scrambled to his feet, rubbing at places that would surely be sore in a while, and glared at the Gerudo.

"You said 'let go'." He shrugged once more, and his harsh brush-off sent a crashing wave of anger through Link's tiny body.

"You don't have to be so mean to me!" Link growled hotly.

"_Her_ orders are to make sure you don't die- she said absolutely nothing about being nice." Ganondorf elaborated.

"Still...you could be nice to me- then _maybe_ if some crazy stuff happens and you get in a pickle, I might just turn around and come save you instead of be a jerk and leave you to die!"

Ganondorf snarled, an animalistic sort of noise escaping his throat, like the sharp hiss of a cat, "I'll end myself if I have to suffer the disgrace of getting 'saved' by yet another should-be senseless fool...especially since you are quite the pipsqueak."

"Quit calling me a pipsqueak!"

*Woodfall Swamp Tourist Center*

"AHA!"

"Shut up."

"HAHAHAHA, I TOLD YOU! I told you! We would have never have found this place if it weren't for the map!" Link yelled.

"Shut up!"

"See Navi, he was all like," and Link paused to try to mimic the much lower voice of Ganondorf, " 'No, I'm a jerk of a guard and think we should just keep walking this way,', and I'm like, 'No, let's get directions, and then we won't be lost!'" Link narrated, making Navi laugh.

Link turned briefly to see the Gerudo's expression of his narrative, but the older boy was ignoring him, though there clearly was agitation in his stance. The tourist center, just as it was labelled on the map, was just a handful of steps away, steps that were immediately eradicated as they padded across the small dock and climbed up the ladder.

"Great...Fairy?" the Pictograph man said with a scratch of his head, as Ganondorf and Link stood across the counter, having asked for the Fairy's location upon entrance.

"Sorry boys- I've heard of a fairy cave being somewhere in the swamp, but I haven't a clue of where it could be. Koume, the witch who runs the Tour, could probably point ya the way..." the burly man paused, glancing at the empty ticket counter, "...but Koume's been out all day since this morning and hasn't come back. 'm starting to worry..."

Ganondorf straightened, and at the same time seemed to flinch, "Koume? This Koume...what does she look like?" his question bought Link's curiousity as the Kokiri brought his inquisitive gaze towards the taller, dark skinned male.

"Uhhh...short, crooked stature...dark skin, old and wrinkly...and a HUGE," he paused to emphasis with his thick hands, like they were cupping something up near his forehead, "HUUUUGE red diamond thing on her head."

The Gerudo became visibly troubled, "Where does she usually go?"

"Well," the Pictographer began with a few scratches of his chin in contemplation, "she has a sister that runs a Potions shop near the Mystery Woods, and they get most of their ingredients there. Koume's told me she occasionally assists her sister when she leaves to see her. If you're looking to go find Koume, it might not be a bad idea to look in the Woods of Mystery, in that case."

"Okay! Thanks for the tip, mister!" Link said, and he turned to leave. he was jerked back with the snatching of his tunic's collar again by the tall Gerudo.

"Rumor has it that the swamp waters are poisonous..." Ganondorf commented, eyeing the Pictographer carefully.

The man nodded, "Yeah, and it's been cutting down our customers ever since. People these days! Got no sense of adventure, ya know? The good news is that the water in this area seems clean enough, but if you get to going any farther you'll need to watch ya step."

The Gerudo shrugged, and the boys left now that they were sure they had the information they needed. Now that they were outside, Link checked the painted parchment he had received from Tingle. According to Tingle's map, if they crossed the waters to their right they'd be right at the entrance to the potion shop and the Woods of Mystery.

Link thoughtlessly jumped into the water and waded across, the water level never rising past the middle of his chest. He was about to keep going when Navi stopped him.

"Link, wait!" she jingled, and made him turn his head her way. Without speaking she gestured behind them and Link saw Ganondorf, frozen and still on the other side of the swamp shore.

"What's with him?"

"I dunno... HEY! Ganondorf!"

The Gerudo boy ignored him, glaring at the water wordlessly with something strange in his eyes.

"Ganondorf!" Link tried again.

The boy blinked, snapping out of his trance and switching his gaze over to the Kokiri, back to the water, back to Link; back and forth, back and forth. Then, slowly and reluctantly the Gerudo boy started crossing the waters. Once across, an audible sigh escaped the Gerudo's throat, and Link felt a concerned curiosity rise.

"Are you okay?"

Ganondorf snapped, "Never better." and so they kept going.

* * *

(*)Tjeaerna (pronounced tu-j-er-nuh) means bye, goodbye, or some other form of a farewell. and no, i still haven't come up with any base to make for the language. Probably never will. oh well. just look for the (*)

Okay, so I lied about major plot tweaking-just trying to get them to the swamp. And I'm going to do some development (or try to) with Ganondorf- and the implied issue with water will probably appear much later.

Leave me alone, I'm lazy lately!

Reviews make me get my lazy butt up though...*wink, wink, nudge, nudge*

-KO13


	9. Chapter 9

Beware, before you read this chapter, I've made a small edit to Chapter 7. The details editted feature here, and it's highly recommended you read the edit in C7. It;s not big, and I'll have it obvious to tell where it is. (between the ~'s). Read the edit, THEN come read this chapter.

Chapter 9

Helping Hands for Hags

* * *

"_ Ow-ow-yeow! Don't you feel like helping out an old woman like me? _" - Koume, Majora's Mask

* * *

Somehow, Link doubted the Pictographer's description had done the witch laying on the ground before, moaning and griping about everything, any justice towards her appearance. An injustice'd description of her personality would have been appreciated too!

She was just... Link couldn't come up with any audience-safe words to properly describe the magical, and very disabled, hag at their feet. _Pre-historic_, and _vulture's feet_ were amongst the words he found himself describing with, though, so he supposed they could do for now. Her skin looked so goddess-awful dry, despite the humidity of the swamp all around them, it was like a desert had made its home on her flesh. Her skin hue was just so dark, and heavily olive-toned that it almost appeared green; the sheer _dark_ of it put Ganondorf's to shame. The bags underneath her eyes sagged and wrinkled so as to allow her eyeballs to properly bulge without actually moving from their sockets. This gave him and Ganondorf an even more marvelous angle of seeing the large yellow irises.

And that nose... it was just so big, and prominent, it almost looked like a pointed limb protruding from her face! It could almost rival the titanic ruby-colored gem adorning her crinkled forehead.

It was taking every ounce of control and then some for Link to stop himself from losing himself to a desperate flood of laughter. If this was indeed the witch and tour-boat guide Koume, then he dared to imagine what her twin sister would look like. Just alike? Total opposites? Semi-similar?

But luckily Link had assistance in distracting his breaking laughter-dam by the strange and sudden change in behavior of his brutish companion. He and Navi still were staring at him, occasionally glancing at the disabled hag but for the most part centering all gazes on his kneeled back.

Yes, _kneeled_ back. Not straight, imposing, or even bent backwards in shock of her appearance. But kneeled forward, like a bow.

In fact, that's what he was doing. One knee, his left, kissing the ground, the other bent as a prop for his right arm while his unoccupied left hand clutched at the ground. His head was bent low too. It was a low bow crossed with a kneel, submissive and totally opposite of the spit-fire brutish boy Link had been dealing with for hours.

(*)"Dishta honris t'wein ruva, Koume!"

"Eh! A gerudo, and a boy no less!" Koume flinched, beady yellow eyes boring into his kneeled form. "Hmm... kouszhju ska uuya? Kouskui ska uyoh'zhju?"

"Ja ska un'sa nazdin, bruja koshyu j'sayei sijas, Ganondorf sa Gerudo!"

"Uuya mun ska daejayud. Teina ska'in din na Termina."

"In din!"

"Any idea what they're saying?" Link whispered to Navi. The blue fairy shook her body, wings drooping with an exaspherated sigh.

"Not a clue."

His and Navi's voices snapped Ganondorf and Koume out of their conversation and it was then that Ganondorf remembered his presence. Koume examined his childish body and the fairy floating around his head.

"...Kouszhju'ska shonzu?

Ganondorf growled underneath his breath. "U yhedazhjet."

"Hi! I'm Link!" Navi jingled beside his head, "And this is Navi!"

"A fairy? Pweh! Just like that rascal, Skull Kid!" Koume spat, flinching in pain at her action. "'cept he had two."

"Skull Kid?" Link wondered. The name wasn't entirely unfamiliar to him, he had somehow befriended one back in Kokiri. However, the one most of the Terminans he had listened to speak of seemed to be a trouble-maker, and if anything could be taken from what the Great Fairy in South Clock Town had told him, he was a _troubled_ troublemaker.

Koume croned her wrinkly head at him, "Ya know him, shonzu?"

"Shonzu?"

"Boy." Ganondorf explained.

"Oh. Nope, but I've heard of him."

Koume huffed, "Well take it from me, shonzu, that brat's nothing but bad news!"

"Did he do something to you?" Navi inquired.

"By the Four, he did!" Koume growled, "Little brat thinks that just 'cause he's got some hocus-pocus mask that makes him stronger, he can go around knocking an extravagant lady like me off my broom!" she humphed. She tried to move a tad, but ended up wailing in pain, "AIIEE! Stupid brat! If he hadn't have bullcharged me in the middle of my flight, my poor old back would be perfectly fine!" she fumed.

Despite her appearance, and the slightly snappy attitude from her tongue, Link couldn't but feel sympathy for her. "What can we do to help?"

"Help?" she 'jumped'.

Link nodded. She looked skyward, thoughtful with a pondering "Hmmm..." escaping her cracked, shrill throat. she snapped her fingers. "I know! One of my sister's potions would fix me right up! One drink, and _snap_!" she snapped her fingers for emphasis, "I'd be back on my broom faster than you can say _Great Fairy_! Yes, that's just the thing this body needs!"

"Ok, where is she?"

"My sister? Well, you're too fleshy to be deku, so ya must have come from the tourist center-just backtrack your way to the exit of Mystery Woods. Shop's tall, smoke billowin' from the top-ya can't miss it, shonzu!"

Smoky top, tall...

Link wondered if she meant that pot-shaped house situated on a tree trunk "floating" atop a small pond of clean swamp water they had passed by going into the Mystery Woods. And speaking of the wood, perhaps, if they were lucky, those funny little monkeys that Navi could talk to would lead him out of the Woods and back in like they had before? That way they wouldn't get lost!

"I got it, granny! I know what you're talking about!"

"GRANNY! WHY YOU LITTLE-"

Link grinned, and jutted towards himself with his thumb, "Don't worry, me and Navi'll be back in a jiffy!"

"Hey! Don't forget to take this buffoon with you!" The witch gestured as much as she could to Ganondorf, who looked offended. " 'don't like the way he's looking at my _extravagant_ self!" she preened to herself, and making a face at the Gerudo boy.

"'kay!" Then Link grabbed his companion by the wrist and made to leave, "Come on Ganny! Let's get to that potion-lady!"

"Ganondorf! NOT Ganny!" he protested, and snatched his hand back from the Kokiri but still following. The small grove they had found Koume disappeared behind the thick foliage.

"Ooh ooh, aah, aah!" came the monkeys, jumping down from tree limbs above.

"Hey, little monkeys!" Navi greeted, "We're going to the Potion Shop. Would you be so kind as to lead us out safely? And once we're done at the shop, would you lead us back in so we can cure Koume?" she jingled.

"Ooh ooh!" they all jumped, and Navi nodded to Link.

"They said sure..." she said, and she flew ahead a few feet to be at the head of their trio, right behind the monkeys. They were backtracking through the woods in a general silence, only interrupted by the constant yelps of the monkeys as they bounced off the ground in front of the trio.

"They're so nice," Link pleasantly noted.

"They're annoying." Ganondorf said gruffly.

Link was wondering for a moment if they'd be able to find the Potion Shop, once out of the Mystery Woods. Would it be hard to pick out? Would it be right in front of them and they miss it? His musings were cured from his mind once the monkeys lead them to a clearing, wide and spacious with a small trail leading, if he remembered correctly, back to the Swamp Tour Center.

Right smack in the middle of the clearing, floating easily atop a small pond of clear swamp water was the potions shop. The shop itself was an pot-shaped with small windows cut out on the bulbous sides, and the very top curving into a thin tip with different colors of smoke billowing out. The shop was atop a thick, tall tree trunk with a large circular wood platform surrounding it.

The monkeys disappeared into the swamp foliage, leaving Link, Navi, and Ganondorf to themselves. They easily got to the platform and climbed up the ladder. A couple polite knocks (if they could be called that, considering Ganondorf's strength in his hands) and an equally sand-paper like voice called for them inside.

The air inside, in contrast to the humidity of clean air (give or take the smell of swampy ick), was thick with aromas and incense, and lots of colorful smoke hovered above them, flowing above into the venting chimney at the top. The scents varied time to time from spicy like peppers to really sharp ice mint to warm cinnamon to something akin to the excrement's of a constipated dodongo. It truly depended upon which of the large, boiling pots to the side you were to stand next to and what was boiling inside it.

Up front was a long counter with a various assortments of bottles and vials perched to the side, different colors of liquid capped inside, and all of the mystifying liquids enticing to Link's curiosity. Beside the bottles was a wrinkled hag, the exact replica of the witch Koume, save for the jewel engraved into her forehead. Instead of being bright blood red like Koume's, it was as deep as the sea and blue as crystal ice, and even looked cold to touch. She was snoring.

Loudly.

The obnoxious sound grated Link's nerves, but Navi hushed him from voicing it.

"Hey, granny, wake up!" However, Navi could not hush his impolite shout to the sleeping witch.

"Link!" Navi scolded.

"What?" Link looked to his fairy companion.

"Don't be rude!"

"But she didn't even wake up!" he groaned, throwing his arms forward toward the alleged Kotake. True to his word, she was still snoozing, though a shift here and there showed she was stirring. She snored louder, and while the sound hurt his sensitive ears, the sound of it also made him laugh.

Ganondorf, unlike his companion, was not amused. His eyes rolled skyward and Link barely caught the muttering under his breath that sounded astoundingly like, "Even here she sleeps like an Armos."

The Gerudo male walked close the counter and snapped his fingers a couple times close to her ears, loud and sharp, as he spoke,"T'wein ruva. T'wein ruva Kotake!"

The snapping, or Ganondorf's voice awoke her from her nap as the witch hag shot erect from her spot, a yelp escaping her throat. Her beady amber eyes studied the trio and soon had her fingers tapping against the wood counter, a silly cackle let loose.

"Tye-hye-hyah, welcome to the Magic Hag's Potion Shop, sonnies! What'dya want cooked up? Need something to calm down that spastic energy in your young little brat-body?" she looked toward Link, "Need to put a little 'oomf' into your glow, fairy?" this time to Navi, "Or perhaps you're looking for a nice quick buzz-off cologne for those desperate ladies flinging themselves to ya, handsome?" the last was toward Ganondorf. "Or, maybe that one scent that'll blow the mind of a lady you lookin to-"

A dark red hue blazed across his cheeks, "What! No! Absolutely not-I'm not-no one's-"

Link and Navi stared at the flabbergasted, tongue-tied Gerudo boy. A wide smirk reached from cheek to cheek on Link while Navi whispered, "Didn't know he could stutter."

"No, no," Link assured the witch, "Nothing like that. We need a...fix-me-up. A potion that would... I dunno..."

A white eyebrow quirked up, "Ya mean like a Red Potion? Strong one, sonny, I don't think you're little body'd be up to it. It packs a punch."

"Oh it's not for me. It's for Koume."

She stared at him, hard and coldly scrutinizing, "Koume?"

"Yeah, looks just like ya but with a red jewel instead of a-"

"Yes, I know my sister!" she scowled, "What about her? Why's she in need of a potion? Has something happened?"

Link retold what had happened, how they had trekked through the Mystery Woods, guided by the monkeys, and how they found Koume and what had happened to her. A high-pitched gasp had elicited from her mouth once the news of her sister's state was reached.

"Skull Kid can't have- that little brat's got no magic in his skinny little bones!"

"It's the mask he's got." Link explained. "The Great Fairy told me it's got lots of bad magic in it and that he's using it to be all...magic-y. " Ganondorf snorted at his vocabulary.

Kotake digested this, "Great Fairy, huh?... well, I can sense some grade-a fairy magic on ya, so I don't think you're lying." She clapped her hands together. "Right then!" A puff of white smoke appeared and as its wispy white clouds dissipated into the air, a red flask with white paint scribbles appeared in the air. "Take this potion to her, shonzu."

Link deadpanned, "Why does everyone seem to call me that?"

"Probably cause you are. Unless you're hiding your gender with those shorts." Link made a face, and the witch laughed, "s'what I thought. Now off with ya!"

*Mystery Woods*

"AAAH!" Link screamed, running rapidly in circles as fast as he could to avoid getting hit.

Hit by the spiked sides of the Snappers, anyway.

"Ganny, help!"

"Hard to, considering your red-head Hylian wench left me empty-handed!" he snarled.

Link almost paused in his footing to give him a good scolding, but with the rapidly spinning fiend at his heels he settled for glaring hotly at the Gerudo, equally occupied with wrestling down one. He seemed to be fairly good at it! "I'm telling Malon when we get back!"

"Tell her what, exactly?" he growled, heaving back against the Snapper trying to knock him back and continue its halted spinning. The snapper had come at him in a rapid spin and it had been lucky timing that his hands had clenched onto solid shell and not a spike. The Gerudo was now trying to wrestle it into submission, or better yet, get a good footing so as to flip it on top of its shell, making it immobile and helpless. "That I honestly don't give two damns about her opinion of me and my kind, that I think her eyes are the ugliest blue and hair the most horrid red I've ever seen in a Hylian and that I think her and her whole race can just go and burn under Din's Fire for all I care?" He flinched, but Link didn't catch it, too busy jumping through a pair of trees and catching his Snapper between them. Link laughed at it.

Navi gasped, "You're horrible! How can you say that about Malon?"

The Gerudo growled, not at Navi but at the Snapper, who was trying to rotate its close-by head at the right angle so as to snap at his fingers, "Easily. Urgh, I'd had enough of this stupid thing!" His palms began to crackle with white sparks and summoning a burst of strength he ripped the tortoise fiend off the ground and sent it flying to the side. It smacked right into its tree-trapped friend, stunning the two of them.

Then before Link or Navi could cut in with an impressed word or whistle, suddenly white hot orbs blasted one after the other from an outstretched palm, all aimed right at the two Snappers scrambling in a pile. Smoke covered the snappers from view when the loud magic attack had subdued and a wind blew the smoke away. The snappers twitched in their spot, smoking and singed spots all over their bodies. They looked alive.

But definitely out of commission.

The monkeys came out of hiding and led them through the forest, a tense silence weighing heavily on the trio.

"...so, I didn't know you could do magi-"

"Zip it, shoto."

"Sho-"

"_Pipsqueak_."

"HEY!" was his last word before they had reached Koume's resting clearing.

"Oi!" cried the hag, catching their attention. "Did ya bring it?"

Link presented the red flask to her. The red color was a joy to her eyes, "Ah, that color," her nostrils flared, and Link was astounded she could smell it, with the cork o-then again, with that big of a nose... "and that smell! That is definitely a concoction of my sister's!" Then out of nowhere she got to her feet and snatched the bottle out of Link's hands fast as a hawk.

Her new-found vigor surprised the trio, but regardless the witch hag downed the drink in one gulp. She belched a red vapor, wiped her wrinkled lips, and shivered."Oooo, feel the energy flow! Yes!" she cackled, enveloped in a white smoke. It dissipated quick, revealing Koume...on a broom.

Hey a rhyme!

"Kya-hhya-ha-ha, Koume is revived!" she rejoiced.

"Fantastic." came Ganondorf's unenthusiastic reply.

"Oh zip it, boy!" she glanced skyward, taking note of the sun's position. It was still morning, perhaps early afternoon. "Thanks for the pick me up, kiddos! Tell you what, I've got a little time on my hands, so what can ol' Koume do for you in return?"

Link immediately piped up, "I'd like directions to the Great Fairy that lives here, somewhere in the swamp. Could you help me?"

"And I," cut in Ganondorf, "am in serious need of a curse-lifting."

Koume stared at him, her eyes scrutinizing every inch before coughing, "That's some geas you got. You know the name?"

"Curse of Ashes. Or Geas of Fallen Pride"

Koume whistled, "Sounds and looks like a real downer. Who's your master?"

He growled in distaste at the word, "A Hylian-"

"You mean Terminan," Navi observed suspiciously.

"Er-Terminan ranch woman named Malon."

"Sucks to be her. I'd hate to have a rude-mouthed male like you under my wing."

"_What_!"

"Then again, " she wiggled her eyebrows, "with those stud-good looks she's probably got enough to oogle to make up for the attitude. Bet you get those muscles sweaty and glistening with a good workout from the farm work-"

"EWW!" shouted Link, horrified at the images. A google-eyed Malon? Flirty Ganondorf? "That is so gross!"

Koume cackled, "Just you wait til you're older, shonzu."

"We're diverting from the subject!" snarled Ganondorf, a red tinge of embarrassment lingering on his face, "Can it be broken?"

She smirked at him, "Nope. Not by any spell or method I know of. And if I don't know it, neither will my sister Kotake."

"Do you know anybody or anything that could break it?"

"Nope."

He bared his teeth, growled a few times, "Excuse me for a moment." and he silently walked over to a nearby tree. He stared at it, long and hard.

Then he punched it.

Link was sure he had never seen a tree split in two and splinter into pieces by one impact, until then.

"Navi, I'm scared."

"Don't be." Koume said, bored, "He's just under stress. Geas's can do that to someone as stubborn as him."

"Hey Koume, do you know him? Like, previously?" Navi inquired. "He seems very familiar with you and Kotake."

Koume shrugged, "Wish it was mutual. It'd sure cure the confusion. But I've never seen him before- in fact, haven't seen a male Gerudo for ages."

"Really?" Link asked. "Are there, like, no boys in the Gerudo?"

Koume shook her head, "Legend has it out of the all-women race one male will be born every one hundred years, and be trained and raised to become unquestioned leader of our tribe during his life. However, the Carnival of Time will mark the year as the two-hundredth year without a male in the tribe."

Navi jingled, "Wow. That's a long time..."

Koume shrugged, "The tribe's long since left the legend behind. They fight and pirate and trade to survive, take the occasional Terminan for a boyfriend, and continue on with their lives, and my sister and I do potion-making and the Swamp Tour Guides. It's not that sorely missed, actually." she shifted her gaze over to Ganondorf, and whispered, " and between you and me, I'd certainly understand why."

Link giggled, then cut his laugh short as Ganondorf finished his fuming and came back to their circle.

"Better?" Koume taunted.

He bared his teeth at her, "I'm fine, thanks."

"Excellent." she grinned. "Now, what else did you want of me?"

"Directions, if you could. To the Great Fairy that's supposed to live in the swamp somewhere."

A curious "Hmm" echoed from her high-pitched, sandpaper throat, "You must be talking about the Great Fairy of Woodfall. Whatcha want with her?"

"Well," Link began, "me, Navi, and a friend of mine are trying to find our way back home. This strange shadow-thing kidnapped us and dropped us all here, and me n Navi were hoping the Great Fairy's, besides the one in Clocktown, might know something to point us in the right direction."

Ganondorf twitched, "A shadow-thing?"

Link nodded. "This big tall guy, in a black hood with black stuff coming off him. Really odd voice too. Sounded real snobby. "

"Wielding a scythe of some sort?" he cautiously inquired.

"Yeah! Have you seen him?" Link asked, hopeful.

Ganondorf's teeth grit together, "I...met him. Once."

"Just once?" Navi asked.

"I'd remember if it were more. That thing is...unforgettable." he growled.

Link mused, "Ganondorf...does that mean you came from Hyrule? Like me, Navi, and Malon?"

He blinked, slowly, orange irises scrutinizing him carefully. "What part are you from?"

"Kokiri Forest. And Malon told me she's from the Lon Lon Ranch up in Hyrule Field, though I have no idea where that is. Up until a few days ago, Navi and I hadn't seen much else besides the forest, much less gone outside of it."

"So you are too?" Navi pondered. "The shadow being... whoever or whatever he is, he took you away from your home too?"

The Gerudo nodded. His fists clenched, "And rest assured, the moment I find that damned shadow I'll wring his neck with my bare hands and obliterate him where he stands!"

"Welcome to the club," smarted Navi.

"No thanks. I have my pride to keep, what little remains, thanks."

Koume plunged in, "Well, after hearing all that I can certainly understand why you'd need to see the Great Fairy." and sly grin etched its way onto her wrinkled lips, "Lucky you three, I know the way."

* * *

SN: Phrases, starting from (*) that are an obvious different language, are Gerudo and translate to the following, in order of their spoken. / Most Honorable Witch-woman, Koume! / Who are you? What is your name? / I am one of the Goddess's-Desert's Children, brother to our sisters, Ganondorf of the Gerudo! / You must be mistaken. There is no desert in Termina. / No desert? /...Who's the boy? / A pest-annoyance. / boy? / shorty-pipsqueak /

And since I know someone might ask... here's a breakdown!

Gerudo language notes

tjeaerna= goodbye, farewell

kous-for questioning, as to use for the words 'how, why, what, who' the word used in question is dependent by the additive letters or words following 'kous'. "-zhji or -zhju" is "who". "-kui" is "what". "-re" is "why". "-hta" is "where". "-ja" is "when" and "-yii" is "how"

ska, ske, skah, skes, skez, and sk' generally translate as "are" or "to be" verbs, such as 'am' and 'are' and "is".

na= in

Tein= translates roughly as there, that, or this. to tell the difference, "there" often is teina, "that" is teinu, and "this" is tei or teini

uyoh'zhju= your(masculine) name (uyoh't is title, zhju is masculine noun person, making it who) similarly yoh'zhji is your(feminine) name, when speaking to female

dishta= most

honris= honorable, noble, worthy, used in conjunction with _dishta_ when used to formally greet someone of supremely high rank such as Ganondorf or Koume/Kotake/Twinrova. when together, it generally means the same as Most Honorable

t'wein=witch or wizard, or used to describe odd and strange magic.

ruva= woman, hag, elder, used in conjunction with t'wein to make the combined alias and name of Koume and Kotake or whenever they conjoin. T'wein ruva, pronounced incorrectly Twinrova by Hylians, is mistranslated to mean Two or Twin and Sorceress.

uuya= (masculine) you, alternatively, uiya= (feminine) you

Ja= I, Me. Alternatively, J'sa= Us or We. Jeis= mine and jei (j-eye)=my. J'sayei= our. If (-yei) or (-ei) is at the end, the word has gone possessive.

yei= have, has. yeii= had

shon=kid, -zu or -zi determines gender (-zu for "boy", -zi for "girl", -za/zas for plural)

din=Din, Goddess of Power and of Sand and Desert, also can mean simple desert or sand

un= one. un'sa=one of

sa= of

sa'u= of the

u= the, a, an

bruja=brother. sija= sister

mun= must

daejayud= mistaken, mistake (daejud)

-in= no, not, negative suffix, are "not", is "not", "cannot", and so on.

yhedazhjet=annoyance, pest. zhjet is basically androgynous subject, the "annoy" part is yheda/yhede/yhedo

shoto=shorty, or pipsqueak

And that's all from this chapter. Kinda.

So, what have we learned about this chapter, boys and girls? That Koume and Kotake are still evil witches, but in very different definitions. Specifically applying to Ganondorf. I feel like this shall be the beginning of a LONG torturous (to him. Hilarious to me) journey.

BUT WAIT! It IS.

So review, tell me what you think, like, hate, criticize, question, etc.

-KO13


	10. Chapter 10

May or may not be seen as a filler... but hey, it's an important one! kinda...

Chapter 10

Woodfall Welcome

* * *

"I was trying to find out about the poison in the swamp, so I went to Woodfall Temple above the waterfall " - Imprisoned Monkey, Majora's Mask

* * *

According to Koume, the way she knew of required the acrobatic skills of a monkey, and the mindset of a man, woman, or child with nothing to lose and nothing to fear. Without at least one with these skills and mind, the path she knew of they could travel upon was dangerous, high, and challenging to properly maneuver wihout an experienced hand. One wrong step, and instant death. One wrong move, and you were Dragonfly toast.

Which roughly translates to GERUDO FOR THE WIN.

Which therefore means, GANONDORF, BATTER UP.

However, there was a slight anomaly within the trio over this course.

"I can't do it!" whimpered Link, wide blue eyes glaring at the massive distance between the flower-trees. Ganondorf had helped him blimb up on of the massive flower-trees and now, perched atop its blooming center with the vastness of the swamp before him he was inclined to gaze at its natural beauty.

If it weren't for the fact that Ganondorf's next intended step toward their destination was a flower-tree over ten feet away, of course.

"Quit being such a baby."

"No! Do you even SEE that distance there! That's gotta be thirty feet! Maybe more! There's no way I can even manage five! Are you crazy?" Link shouted at him. He was of course exaggerating te distance- it was only roughly thirteen, maybe fourteen feet, but it was still much too wide for him to jump.

"Yes. And why not? A gerudo your age could make that jump in their sleep!"

"Well I'm not a Gerudo! I'm a KOKIRI!" Link huffed, crossing his arms together angrily.

Ganondorf's eyes rolled, and glanced a few times between Link and the jump. Then he engaged a sly, thoughtful look. A look that scared Link.

"Uhm, Ganny? Whatcha thinking?"

He was silent, thinking, then his lips parted, "Oh, nothing too serious-just wondering if the projectory would work right."

"Projectory?" he gulped, "Of what?"

"Of you."

Link sputtered, flabbergasted, "W-what!"

Ganondorf didn't even blink, "You're pretty small, and I suppose even with the weight of your shield and dagger, you're a pretty light weight." he considered, "and I've got power on my side, so throwing you wouldn't be the problem. It's distance judging, and projectory."

Link, however, could care less of what the problem to his Gerudo companion was. He was too caught up with the solid fact standing that Ganondorf wanted to just pick him up and chuck him like a ragdoll. "You want to throw me over there and hope I land on the tree and not the poisonous water!"

"Hope is such a flimsy word. I'm not hoping, (*) shoto, I'm calculating. Judging the distance and how hard I'll have to throw you." he said with a shrug.

"And you expect me to just smile and say 'Yeah, throw me Ganny!'?" Link exclaimed.

Ganondorf pondered Link for a moment, then made an impressed expression. Link wasn't sure if it was sarcasm or not. Despite the hours with him, Link still didn't quite grasp the concept. "Yes. But it appears you aren't quite as quick to foolhardy quests for adrenaline-high as I thought."

"Yeah, not when they involve poison water and dying!" he exasperated.

Ganondorf's eyes rolled upwards again. "You are not going to die, fumoro."

"And what does fuma-fu-that word you just said mean?" Link questioned.

"Idiot. Look, there are exactly three ways you can do this, shoto." Before Link could spit a comeback for the insult, Ganondorf raised up three fingers of his hand and pointed one at a time to each finger as he numbered off, "One, you can shut up and jump. But, since you're so determined to prove you won't, I suppose that one's , see that large tree limb to the side of us?" he pointed to it briefly, quick that Link double-took to notice it, "How it's reach scales from us to the farthest-reaching branch-petal-thing of the flower-tree? You can grab on and siddle your way over there or jump and run down its length to the tree and jump off. Bewarned, it looks rotted. Or three," the final finger, "you can shut up, pray to whatever goddess you prefer, and let me throw your pipsqueak body across."  
Link pondered his options with Navi wordlessly.

"Sorry, Link, but that third option's looking the best."

Link groaned, "Navi..." he huffed, but glances confirmed Ganondorf's words. The distance was too great for a tiny little Kokiri like Link to jump. The branch he was talking about, he might do- life in the Kokiri Forest had adapted him to plenty of tree-climbing, but indeed as the Gerudo had said, multiple splinters were poking out and the wood looked soaked and weak as rotting wood tended to.

This was not going to be pleasant, Link thought. "Okay. Throw me."

Ganondorf smirked, "Good for you." Then without a warning he grabbed Link by the back of his collar and lifted him into the air. Link squirmed in his grasp, but proved futile as fluidly Ganondorf flipped him around in his palm until his belly was in the palmof the Gerudo, roughly held like a ball. The sight of the distance he was going to cross terrified him.

"Wait, Ganondorf, I changed my mind put me do-AAAAHHH" Link began, but found his sentence interrupted by his own screams as within a second he was hurtling through the air. Despite the arms flailing, eyes wide, and mouth releasing screams, Link flew through the air as easily as if he were a small playing ball. No matter how quickly the flower-tree could be every milisecond that passed, down below him was water so thick with poison that one touch might just end up killing. And it was so close, and he was going so fast an-

"OOMPH!"

"Link!" Navi cried distantly. Link, slightly disoriented, shakily removed his face from its firm placement into te flower-tree's branch, its floral stench painted into his nose. He rubbed his head, dizziness lingering, but then he finally registered to himself that the fleshy surface hisbare hand was touching was NOT poisonous swamp water.

He had made it! Still there lingered the adrenaline in his veins and his heart still pumping, and suddenly the fear-induced whoosh from before had left a numb and stunned Kokiri boy, with fingers tingling. It felt amazing!

He jumped to his feet and whooped, "THAT WAS AWESOME! Can we do it again?"

Ganondorf rested fingers to his temples and shook his head. "Where's a bottomless pit when you need one?"

Link laughed, "You're funny. So, uh, how are you getting over here?" he asked.

Ganondorf's and lowered and he considered to himself a proper method. He seemed to shrug and back up a few feet from the edges of the flower-tree's branches. Then he suddenly shot forward like an arrow. In an instant he crossed to the edge of the branch to the tree and leaped into the air, kicking off to propel himself as hard as he could.

Ganondorf's airborne body soared like a bird, and for a moment Link thought, 'Holy Farore he's going to make it!'. However, the distance proved too great by a few feet and the Gerudo plummetted down to his death.

Or so it seemed until the tree went careening dangerously low, something pulling it down. Link nearly fell off, but the tree righted itself up like a slingshot. The momentum was enough to send Ganondorf skyward for a few seconds, and in a second's time the Gerudo was right in front of Link, standing on his two feet without a scratch or a drop of swamp water on his skin.

Ganondorf dusted his hands together, "And that's how you jump."

Link gasped, "I thought for sure you were gonna fall!"

"That's why," he began, "you grab the branch, let it lean down, right itself back up, and use the momentum to bring your feet up and on it."

Link's arms crossed, "Well, if you'd have put it that way I'd have just jumped..."

"Actually, I wouldn't advise it. That jump was big, even for one such as me." Ganondorf admitted. His orange irises looked forward toward a large fallen tree trunk, resting right next to another flower-tree that was just a little ways aside the edges of a large forested cliff watching the flow of the waterfall that gave the swamp in the area its water supply.

"Distance looks much smaller. This should be considerably easier."

"Hey Ganondorf?" Link asked, as the dark-skinned youth began preparing another jump.

"What, shoto?"

"Quit calling me that!" he snapped, "Anyway, how...how do you do that jump?"

"..."

Link pressed on, "Can you teach me?"

Ganondorf scrutinized him for a long moment, a black, almost bored look on his face, but there was soemthing different in his eyes. After a moment, Link opened his mouth to say nevermind, to forget it, when Ganondorf's rough voice spoke, "I suppose. But not here. One wrong move and you'd be dead, drowning in poison water-as great of a relief on my shoulders as that'd be, she wouldn't hesitate to bash my head in with that infernal cooking utensil of hers if I let something as easy as your own foolishness kill you!"

It was full of insults and attitude, but Link couldn't have cared less. He had still said yes! "Great! So, how are we gonna cross now?"

Ganondorf pondered, "I suppose you wouldn't happen to have changed your mind about jumping, have you?"

"Nope."

"Thought so."

"What if you carried him?" Navi questioned.

A tense silence overcame anything he might have replied with for one solid second. In that one second all compliancy, all of the semi-friendly-borderline-bluntly-honest-to-the-point-of-insults comraderie was gone.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you're obviously the more experienced of us at these kinds of stunts, and it'd be much quicker if you and Link just go at the same time and get to the Great Fairy faster before it gets late and we can't see... so why not just sit Link on your shoulders and go?" Navi said.

"And be some Hylian's little pack mule! Who the hell do you think I am! Absolutely not!"

"I'm not saying carry him around for hours on end!" Navi shouted back, glowing red-hot, "It's just to get to that cliff!"

"And then to the next jump, and the next, and the next, until nothing's there for an excuse-I am not anyone's riding donkey!"

"I'm not saying you are, jeez!" she snapped, "I'm just suggesting an easier way for us all to get to the Great Fairy's! You aren't listening!"

Link stepped between them, "Navi, it's okay... if he doesn't want to, he doesn't have too."

"That's why I said it was a suggestion." Navi growled, "He just won't listen!"

"I am listening, thank you very much, and I am not carrying anyone!"

"HEY!" Link screamed as loud as he could. Navi's red glow returned to blue, while Ganondorf's flaming orange eyes glared at him. The Kokiri allowed a few seconds for them to seethe or cool down, even if only for a few seconds and not an ideal couple of hours.

"Navi's right- if you let me hop onto, say, your sholder while we crossed, it wold be a lot easier and faster than if we just jump-or throw- one at a time. It would get us to the heart of Woodfall faster, and easier..." Link let it sink in, "...but, if you really don't want to, then we can just keep going the way we've been."

The Gerudo growled, angry. After a silent, tense moment, he growled again and suddenly Link found himself being picked up again. He struggled, surprised by the sudden grip, "Hey!", and then felt hard metal hit his stomach.

"Shut up, and hang on." Ganondorf snapped. His native language flowed from his tongue in one smooth phrase, "Din, dai koi yu jai par ton quor ja aros." And then the world burst forward in a mad dash. Ganondorf kicked off, and this time, for a moment Link swore he saw a red flash where his open-toed foot had kicked the branch of the flower-tree. In an instant they were airborne again, soaring through the air, swamp water and muck beneath them forgotten as the thrill of "flight" overtook Link's senses.  
His adrenaline high was short lived when suddenly they landed on the fallen tree trunk sitiated right next to the last flower tree. With Link still gripping onto his horned shoulder pauldrons, Ganondorf stepped onto the last flower tree they would have to cross, and took a flying leap towards the cliff edge.

He didn't land with his feet, but his gauntlet-equipped hands clawed their way to grip the edge, and the Gerudo easily climbed up. Link hopped off.

"Hey! Look!" Navi called, floating in front of an erect stone statue.

Eager to see, Link darted towards it. The stone was grey as steel, and sticking up as a rectangle. The face was a deep blue, dirtied from the weather and dirt of the swamp, but the engraved writing was still clear enough to read.

"Four lines...the clef sign? ... dots...wait, no, those are notes! I think it's a song." Navi said with a clear perk to her voice. Link stood straighter, beaming too. He and Navi always had a liking for music!

Link snapped his fingers, "Sure wish I had an instrument! An ocarina or something..."

"So what?" spoke Ganondorf, leaning over Link to read the engraved music. "It's just a song."

"Maybe, but music is the language of the soul, wise men say." Navi said. She turned toward the slab and read, "May the soaring wings take flight... and then the notes..."

The sound of shuffled clothing caught his and Navi's attention and they glanced toward Ganondorf, who's hand was digging into the inner folds of his sleeveless robe-tunic. He fished out a long, smooth and hollow rod that appeared to be made out of a gold-yellow wood with blue, black, and red painted bands scaling up the length. The same blue and red rectangular design on the cloth wrapped around his lower legs and sandals was on the cane.

"Treble or Bass clef?" he asked without sparing a single glance at them, placing his fingers on hollowed holes equally distanced from each other, far from the black lip rest tip.

"Uh, treble. " Navi double-checked the clef to make sure.

"Read them to me." he brought the end to his lips, a black tip with a lip rest where a hole for air to blow through was presumably cut. He blew a few times for practice, and husky, harmonic notes reached his ears beautifully.

"F." His fingers snapped to the appropriate holes, some covered, some not and blew the note. Sound entered Link's ears and he couldn't help but like it. It was sort of husky like a shushed voice, rich in harmony and exotic, different from the high-pitched and flitty sound that Saria played on her Fairy Ocarina.

"B." His fingers changed and a slightly higher pitched note followed.

"Uhm... a high D." The note following shot high, soaring.

"And... it just repeats. F, B, high D." Ganondorf gave a curt nod and played the three notes together.

"Hmph." he sounded, removing the flute from his lips. "Yuo anahk. Anything else? A harmony to go with it?"

Navi shook, "Nope. Just those three notes, played twice."

"Tch." he replaced the flute back into his robe. "We've wasted too much time, let's keep going."

Link nodded, "I guess. " The shadow of a large bird passed over them, But it went unmentioned. They crossed the small gap between them and the secret entrance to Woodfall that Koume had told them about, right where the waterfall descended. Once crossed, they entered the shadowed hole, where a carved wood frame encircled it. A few silent minutes of walking (well, bent shuffling for Ganondorf, who's tall and muscled frame didn't quite fit the small cave) and the light of the late afternoon sun welcomed them to heart of the swamp, Woodfall.

* * *

The instrument Ganondorf is using is called a ney. It's an ancient arabic/egyptian end-blown flute. Beautiful sound-maker, really exotic. And in treble clef, those really are the notes to Song of Soaring. Don't believe me? Look it up at zeldapedia-or if you play a treble clef instrument, try it out! I even tested it on my clarinet! :) (and like any sane Zelda nerd that plays any instrument, I've learned to play most songs on my clarinet too, haha)

SN: Phrases, starting from (*) that are an obvious different language, are Gerudo and translate to the following, in order of their spoken. / Shorty / Idiot / Din, give fire to my feet and let me soar. / Too easy. /

And since I know someone might ask... here's a breakdown!

Gerudo language notes

shoto=shorty or pipsqueak

fumoro= fool, moron, idiot

dai=give

koi=fire

par=foot/feet

ton=and

quor=let

aros=fly, soar

kosh= got, koshyu= got to

yu= to, yuo= too

anahk=easy, can be alternate for simples

So yes, this chapter can be seen as a filler... I don't care. I had fun.

So review, tell me what you think, like, hate, criticize, question, etc. and we'll get some action (maybe) next chapter.

Also, is it odd that I think of the Gerudo as arabian ninjas? Or, at the least, acrobatic geniuses?

Also also, Ganny's easily offendable (shut up, don't care if that is or isn't a word). It makes everything that much more fun. ;D

-KO13


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Deku Princess

* * *

"_ Kind young one! Please hear my plea! _" - Stray Fairy, Majora's Mask

* * *

The world looked a bit different from the shoulders of the tall Gerudo, Link noticed. Suddenly the ground, or the distant surface of the poisonous swamp water was miles away from his touch, the blades of swamp grass and reeds miniscule. Mad Dekus and those beetle Hiploops they came across looked puny and while the electrifying dragonflies were in equal heights, if not bigger with them, the insects were no match for Ganondorf's superior magic blasts and Link's slingshot.

The reason he'd noticed is that the heart of the swam, Woodfall itself, was... it wasn't quite suited for a lackadaisical stroll. Tree stumps, short and tall alike circled around the center where the thickest of the swamp's muck, and where the oily, smelly poison in the water was at its most potency. Broken slabs of dead, rotting wood occasionall allowed a walkway from one stump to another, but they were few and far in between, and the stumps themselves were set far apart. So, ultimately, Ganondorf's acrobatic skills were the only chance he and Link had at getting around Woodfall, since Navi could simply fly.

And thus, begrudgingly for the Gerudo, Link was right back on Ganondorf's shoulders, perched wih his legs dangling light and loosely on either side of the Gerudo's neck. Slingshot in hand he easily took out the pesky Mad dekus, beetle fiends, and dragonflies, if Ganondorf's magic didn't first.

"What do you think this Great Fairie's like?" Link inquired.

"Probably just like the one in Clocktown." Navi said simply.

"Hey Ganny!" he tapped on the Gerudo's head, "Have you ever met a Great Fairy?"

"No. But from the incessant chattering rodent atop my shoulders has inclined, I can see you already have."

"Yep!" Link said cheerily, ignorant of the subtle insult Ganondorf had aimed at him. "She was real nice. But she seemed to like being all mysterious with her answers."

"...is it true?" Ganondorf asked.

"Huh?"

"That the Great Fairies are nude nymphs?"

"They are not nymphs, and they are not naked!" Navi flustered, offended. "They are the superior fae of our kind, with great magic and majestic forms and have their bodies well clothed to cover the modesty of their forms!"

Link snickered into Ganondorf's ear, "Yeah, by leaf-panties and-what's that thing grown up girls wear, Ganny?"

"Depends; are we talking about Gerudo women or Hylian wenches?"

"...uh..."

Ganondorf shook his head, "Whatever, I get it. They're not nymphs, but they're very much naked."

"They are not _naked_!" Navi shrieked, red hot aura burning bright.

"Hey look!" Link pointed, "That's a weird trunk. It's huge!"

Ganondorf leaped over to it, climbing up its edge with his hands like they were claws. It was huge, many times taller and wider than the other tiny stumps they had been crossing over on top of. In the center was a rounded pedestal stamped on top. A deku's face was painted on it, and to their right was a giant owl statue Link couldn't help but remember seeing near the Swamp Tourist Center, Clock Town... Colorful cloth flags circled their heads, attached to sprouting tree limbs protruding skyward.

"Malon and Cremia did say something about a society of Dekus. Maybe this is some special ritual spot for them?" Navi pondered.

"Hey!" suddenly spoke up a small voice from behind them.

Ganondorf turned half his body, while Link turned his head to see. It was a curious looking deku, with soft red eyes, a flower-petal and leaf sleeved gown covering their wood body and a colorful flower growing from their head that made hair fringe and a tall, cascading ponytail of petals, flying above toward their heads through rotating flowers. Something white and furry was hanging onto them, and suddenly the flower petals poofed apart and the deku went falling right for the wood platform they stood on.

The white furry thing turned out to be one of the white monkeys from the woods. It softly landed on all fours and then moved out of the way for the deku to land. The deku shuffled to them, the sound of leaves shaking and brushing against each other with each step.

"What are people doing here? Father had this place closed off!" the deku said, voice small and flute-like.

"Sorry to intrude!" Link said from high atop Ganondorf's shoulders. "We're looking for the Great Fairy of the Swamp. We got directions from the witches Koume and Kotake."

"Oh, I know where she is! Her Fountain lies in that small cave over there." the deku pointed a far, where Link squinted to spot a shadowed hole a mountain-sized rock. It was a few tree trunk-leaps from them, nothing Ganondorf wouldn't be able to cross in a few strides. "What do you want with the Great Fairy? And who are you?"

Navi floated down from Link's side to the deku, "We're travelers, taken far from our home by a mysterious being. We're looking for a way home, and we're hoping the Great Fairy could help us. I am Navi, the Fairy. This," she floated quickly back up to Link, "is my Kokiri partner, Link, and this man," she floated a bit lower to shine next to Ganondorf, who grimaced at her, "is the Gerudo Ganondorf."

"Oh, I see... I am the Princess of the Dekus!"

"What are you doing out here, princess?" Link asked. "Isn't this a bit out of the way from the Palace?"

"Well," she shyly shifted, leaves and flowers rattling softly, "since you've traveled this far into the swamp, I don't need to guess you all have come across the fiends swarming here, and the poison in the water, yes?" when she received a nod from Link and Navi, and a mild shift in stance from Ganondorf, the princess continued on, "It turns out here in the heart of Woodfall is a temple we Dekus worship in, that only we Dekus can raise up and down from the deep waters of the swamp."

Link briefly surveyed the area, "That might explain why I can't see anything looking like a temple."

"Yes, well, I believe a demon has made its home in the temple and is creating all the poison that has flooded our waters, as well as the fiends that have suddenly spawned here." the princess said gravely, then huffed angry, "My father, the King, believes we should stay as far away from the temple as possible, and has decreed that no Deku should raise the temple from the bottom of the swam, but he's an idiot!" she snapped, "Every day the poison seeps deeper and deeper through the swamp! It's only a matter of time before the poison floods the entire Woodfall! Or worse-Termina!"

"That's terrible!" cried Navi.

"What are you gonna do?" Link asked.

"Well...uhm...I was thinking I could...uh...raise the temple and give that demon a piece of my mind!" huffed the princess, trying to sound confident.

It didn't convince them very well.

"...actually I don't know." the princess admitted. "But still, I _must_ go! I cannot bear the shameful cowardice my father has, nor can I let this demon wreck havoc in our land without question!"

"So...you're taking a monkey with you?" Ganondorf said, unimpressed.

"Ooh, ooh, ah!" squalled the monkey.

"Don't make fun of Keymo!" the princess snapped, "He's the bestest friend I've ever had, much better than those stupid guards that never listen to me. Plus, he's sweet and protects me!"

"Ooh, ah!" it cheered.

"Ignore Mister Grumpy," Navi spoke, earning a vicious snarl from Ganondorf, "Anything we could do to help?"

The princess paused, puzzlement in her body language as her arms cross over, leaf sleeves hiding her mouth and one of her small wooden feet tapping lightly against the pedestal.

"Perhaps...after you have finished your business with the Great Fairy, of course," the princess began, "you could assist Keymo in escorting me through the temple? There are all manners of traps and puzzles within the temple to keep it safe from outsiders, though obviously not enough to safeguard the place from a demon of this particular caliber. To traverse the insides alone would be a grave mistake, especially as I am the only deku of the Royal Family to be willing to raise the temple and expose it."

"Absolutely!" Link beamed.

"No." Ganondorf growled, "We already had to do that stupid potion run for the witches, we are not going to do favors for every person we come across, shoto!"

"I didn't say you had to tag-a-long," Link huffed, "if you don't want to help out a girl in need that badly, then why don't you just wait out here til me and Navi get done?"

"Because," he spat, "if you would promptly recall, you're beloved ranch-peasant has me under orders to babysit your scrawny ass-AND this whole Great Fairy business has gone on for long enough!"

"Oh yeah..." Link frowned. Then shrugged, "Come on, Ganny, it won't take _that_ long! It's just some teeny tiny temple for dekus to worship...uh...what was it you said you worshipped?"

"I didn't."

"Oh. Well, there! It would take probably no time at all to get through!"

"No." he growled.

"Come on, Ganny!" Link begged.

"No. That's final." he said. "Good luck with your temple-raising, Princess." he bid farewell before turning and leaping off the pedestal and heading toward the cavern entrance. Link tried to change the Gerudo's mind a few more times with different sorts of begs, pleads, and very loud shrieks. The Gerudo was unfazed.

"You're so mean, Ganny." Link finally huffed, defeated as the Gerudo easily crossed the swamp water onto a small beach of solid ground lying below the entrance to the Fountain.

"I know." Ganondorf replied simply, then pushed off with his feet and caught the edge of the rocky wall with his hands. He pulled himself and Link up, who was still atop his shoulders, and the Kokiri jumped off his shoulders while Ganondorf had to kneel down so as not to bump his head against the ceiling of the rock.

They traveled a ways in darkness, the retreating caws of swamp birds and loud frogs the only accompanying sound. Then, as they breached deeper into the cavern, rock transformed into carved stone, and the sound of rushing water reached their ears. Ahead lie a glowing light that as they got closer began to shape into an archway. Navi fluttered around Link, impatiently, meaning they were undoubtedly close, if the light ahead and sound of water weren't hint enough.

The fountain, as they entered, was just as gorgeous and breath-taking as the one in Clock Town. White marble walls, pillars, and floors of the entire room sparkled. There was trickling water pouring out various fountain spouts on the walls, all that led into the slightly inward-dipping floor where the water accumulated into a shimmering pool of water that gave off the barest glow of pink. As the trio approached the pool in the center, a light shot to the ceiling.

Dimming the intensity, the figure bathed in light...

...was _not_ the Great Fairy! It was a swarm of the same disfigured, jigsaw-puzzle winged baby looking fairies from the Fountain in Clock Town, but instead of a peachy yellow they were a soft pink.

"What is this nonsense?" Ganondorf snapped.

"Oh no, the Great Fairy! She's been split up too!" Navi shrieked.

"Just like the one from Clock Town..."

In a windy, tiny voice one of the hot-pink disfigured, baby-shaped fairy spoke, ~"_Kind young one! Hear my plea!_"~

"What happened, Great Fairy!" Navi spoke first.

~"_The Mask! He Who Wears the Cursed Mask! He came to my fountain and split my spirit into many pieces, and hid them within the Sleeping Temple of Woodfall!_"~ it cried, woe and sadness weaved into its tone.

"Temple... she may mean the same temple that Deku princess was speaking of!" Navi jingled.

~"_Yes! Yes! Please, kind one!_"~ another of the broken fairy said, floating near Link's face, ~"_I am but a piece of my whole, but I felt days ago the returned vigor of my sister's spirit, my sister the Fairy of Clock Town. She sent to me, and surely my other sisters across Termina, visions of your selfless actions to restore her! Please, would you once more retrieve the scattered pieces of a broken Great Fairy?_"~

Link nodded, "I will, you can count on me!"

~"_Then allow me to bestow on you a small blessing..._"~ a small, tiny little ball of pink light slowly made it sway out of within the small fairy's chest and floated to Link's hands, ~"_It is not much, but with this light my scattered pieces within the temple will sense your presence and instead of retreating as if you were to be enemies, will accompany you until you can return here._"~

"Thanks," Link smiled. The cloud began retreating and the small light disappeared into Link's body, slightly creeping the boy out.

~"_Be careful, young one. For weak and powerless as I am, I can sense a great evil has been awakened within the temple, I fear to be the work of the Cursed Mask. It will not be an easy fight, should you come face to face._"~ the broken fairy spoke as they retreated to the outside.

"Looks like we're going into the Temple _anyway_! Ha!" Link laughed as they traversed through the darkness of the cave once more before dropping off the edge and being greeted by the sight of the swamp.

"Shut up. Now we actually have a reason to." he growled in return.

"What, like helping someone out isn't reason enough?" Link replied back. Ganondorf did not grace him with a cutback as he growled at him, snatched the Kokiri boy up and plopped him onto his shoulders and took off. He nimbly leaped over the toxic marsh water, landing on tree stums for leverage as they crossed, headed back toward the tall pedestal.

Once across and back on top, they found the Deku Princess and her primate friend still standing. The Princess had a strange wood instrument looped around one side of her body, with the mouthpiece close to her O lips, and varying sizes of bells looming over her head branching out from the mouthpiece. a few loud blasts of sound blared from the various bells. She didn't hear the thump of Ganondorf's feet landing on the wood top, but she did notice their presence when her simian companion jumped up and down to alert her.

"Oh, hello again." she greeted, moving the mouthpiece aside, "How did your visit go?"

"Not well. The Great Fairy's been split into pieces, and a few of them are somewhere inside that temple of yours." Link explained. "so, looks like we get to go with you into the temple anyway!"

She jumped, "Goody! That is a joy to hear!" she paused, "Er, not to say it is good that the Fairy has been broken...uhm..."

"So how is it you raise this temple of yours?" Ganondorf inquired.

"Through a song passed down by the Deku Royal Family." she explained. "It is taught only to the Royalty, and thus the Temple is ever awakened from the murky depths of the swamp only by Royalty. It's been quite useful against invaders and bandits, but it would seem it the demon inside found an alternative entrance, or perhaps is a spirit."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Link asked.

"W-well, I'm not supposed to play it in front of an audience... and it is forbidden to ever teach or play the song for anyone that lies outside the trust of the Family..."

"Oh."

"But!" she snapped, "But, I believe you three to be trustworthy. As long as this forbidden act does not leave this conversation, then let us proceed with the Sonata of Awakening!" she said, pepped. She grasped the mouthpiece back to her mouth, and started blowing. Despite its puny size, her instrument was capable of such blatant sound it almost hurt his ears to listen to, the sound sharp and loud. Then she adjusted her embaucher and the notes from the bells weren't so harsh, and softened a bit.

The pitch went back and forth for a moment, before slowing to a calm exchange. The Princess allowed it to carry out its waves for a moment, before repeating the same pattern. Then, she placed the Pipes to the side of her body, and Link spared an amazed glance at her as the pipes suddenly disappeared into her leafy gown. A growing rumble took his attention back and Link gasped.

From the center of the marsh, water rose into waves as something deep within quaked. Suddenly a large structure began to rapidly rise from the murky swamp depths. Toxic water flooded and splashed at the intrusion of its presence, and the fiends around the heart of Woodfall were washed away, caught off guard by the rising temple. It was a large structure, with thick walls, and a shadowed entrance on the first level of view, with large, towering leafless trees that were perched on opposing sides of the other.

"It doesn't look that big," the Deku Princess said, moving to stand on top of a large Deku Flower situated lazily on the platform,"but that's because that's just the entrance. It takes you down into the real temple, which is still submerged in the swamp."

"How do we get across?" Link asked, "The distance from here to there is huge!"

"I can cross by this flower," she said, plopping down on it, " But I'm afraid my Twirli petals won't let me carry anything heavier than Keymo," the monkey chirped in regards of his name's use. "But I won't go ahead, until you two are there first. Will that be acceptable?"

"I could find a few other words to describe it." Ganondorf growled, then without warning plucked Link off his shoulders and placed him on the platform.

"Ganny," Link began, "You're not thinking of tossing me over there, are you?"

"Not quite." he replied.

"Well, are you going to use some magic-stuff and make us fly?"

"If I could, we wouldn't have had to do that nonsense back there trying to get to the falls," he growled, "besides, I don't know the spell for flight, nor the strength it takes to conjure it."

"Strength?"

"Power," he briefed, "All magic comes at a cost, and if you cannot pay it in power, you pay it with your life. And I am quite adamant about my life." he explained, then turned to face the Deku royalty, "How would you expect your people's reactions to a few broken beams?"

She shrugged, "Not too bad. There is plenty of wood to replace such things in the swamp."

"Excellent." he said, no signs of humor or satisfaction on his face; not even a smile to hint at his plan. Curtly, the Gerudo than clapped his hands onto the nearest beam with the thin banners around the pedestal and with a distinct crackle of splintering wood, unearthed it. He tore the banner off of it too.

The princess grimaced, "...but we do not take kindly to vandalism! What is the meaning of this?"

"Nothing permanent. You said you can find more wood to make beams with, the banners are small and probably replaceable. It's not like I'm uprooting the entire platform."

"But still." she curtly said, crossing her arms indignant. "So rude!"

Hoisting it up with one arm, a flare of black aura encased his other hand and as he raked his palm over the splintered end, the sizzling and snap of wood hissed in the air. When he stopped and removed his hand, and extinguished the black aura, the tip of the broken beam was roughly tapered to a point like that of a pen. Then he hoisted it up, held it in one arm, and just like he had with Link, he reared back and then with all his might, which was a considerable amount, by the way, threw it like a spear.

It darted through the air, and with a heavy _thunk_ sunk the tip and a considerable amount of the rest of the wood securely into the wall of the temple, just in front of the entrance. When it refused to fall from its new perch after several patient moments, Ganondorf turned to one more of the tall wooden beams, and tore it from its roots. He then laid it down on the wood of the platform, with most of its tall form hanging over like a plank, with at least a foot still touching the platform surface. His hand flared up once more, and before Link's very eyes the end of the beam melded into the pedestal. Now the distance between the platform and the temple was somewhat shortened, with the two opposing beams pointed right at each other, for someone to cross, jump, and land on the other.

Link was snatched up by the collar of his tunic and placed back on top of Ganondorf's shoulders.

"Oh no, we're jumping it now, aren't we?" Link gulped.

"Yes, we are." the Gerudo confirmed. "The beams shorten the distance, making this much easier to jump." He positioned at the end of the platform facing the two beams. With one short sprint, he crossed over to the very end of the beam, thin as it was and literally seconds away from breaking under his weight, and in one kick off Kokiri and Gerudo were airborne.

* * *

In which I make a few more jokes about the Great Fairies of OoT/MM, We finally reach a major dungeon, Ganny's still a douchebag, and Deku Princess's got more kahones than her dad.

Also, henceforth the use of Gerudo word "shoto" is a little teasing nickname Ganondorf has for Link. If you will recall, it means "shorty" or "pipsqueak"

If like, review. If no like, review anyway. Questions, put it into review. Feel free to ramble.

I apologize for the lack of updates, but it's hard to when I'm so focused on certain other fics /_cough Lost Mermaid and Her Dragon cough_\and lots of uncoordinated laziness. And distractions. Damn Pokemon Nuzlockes. so fun and emotionally gripping! DX

-KO13


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